HB2532--GETTHELEADOUTOFSCHOOLDRINKINGWATERACT
SPONSOR: Bailey
Thisbillcreatesthe"GettheLeadOutofSchoolDrinkingWater
Act".
Thebilldefinesa"disadvantaged schooldistrict"asanyschool
districtthatservesstudentsfromacountywithatleast25%of
familiesbelowthefederalpovertyguidelinesorwithmorethan70%
ofthefamiliesqualifyingforfreeandreducedlunch.
Thebillrequiresthat,beginninginthe2023-24schoolyear,
schoolsmustprovidedrinkingwaterwithaleadconcentrationlevel
belowtheAmericanAcademyofPediatrics'recommendedmaximumlevel
ofonepartperbillion.
BeforeJanuary1,2024,schoolsmustcompleteseveralrequirements
asoutlinedinthebillincluding:conductinganinventoryofall
drinkingandnondrinkingwatersourcesineachschoolbuilding,
installingfilterstoreduceleadindrinkingwater,andposting
warningsignstoindicatewaterpurposes.
Schooldistrictsmustprioritizeearlychildhood,kindergarten,and
elementarybuildingsandprovidesufficientlyfilteredwaterfor
allstudentsandstaffthatmeetsthefilterspecifications
outlinedinthebill.Districtsmustconducttestingoffiltered
watersourceswithin60daysoffilterinstallationandannually
thereafter. Resultsoftestingmustbepostedontheschool
websitewithanopportunityforapublicmeetingtodiscuss
results. DistrictsmustalsosubmittestresultstotheSafe
DrinkingWaterCommission.
Thebilloutlinesproceduresfordistrictsifasampledrawshowsa
leadconcentrationofonepartperbillionorgreaterincluding:
shuttingoffandlabelingdrinkingwatersources,providingbottled
waterforstaffandstudents,anddevelopingremediationsteps.
Thebillauthorizesdistrictstoseekreimbursementfromavariety
offederalandstatesourcesforcostsassociatedwithexpenses
theymayincurtobeincompliancewiththerequirementsoutlined
inthebill.
ThebilldirectstheDepartmentofElementaryandSecondary
Education(DESE)andtheSafeDrinkingWaterCommissiontopublish
areportbienniallybasedonthefindingsofthewatertests
outlinedtobemadepublicontheSafeDrinkingWaterCommission
andDESEwebsites. ThebilladditionallydirectstheSafeDrinking
WaterCommissiontoprovideguidancewithinaspecifiednumberof daysregardingthemaintenanceoffiltersandfiltrationsystems
andthedevelopmentofflushingplans,todevelopanonline
trainingprogramforcustodialstaffrelatingtothemaintenanceof
filtersandfiltrationsystems,andforschooldistrictsto
implementaplan.
ThebillprovidestheSafeDrinkingWaterCommissiontheauthority
toenterschoolbuildingsandensurecompliance,including
authorizationtoissueadministrative ordersandassesspenalties.
NoschoolbuildingconstructedafterJanuary4,2014shallbe
requiredtoinstall,maintain,orreplacefilters,andanyschool
districtthatundertakesremediationeffortsmayuseacost
effectivemethod.
ThisbillisthesameasHB2610(2022)andsimilartoHB1466
(2022).