Petaluma City Schools | BP 3514.2 Business and Noninstructional Operations
Integrated Pest Management
Introduction
The Petaluma City School District recognizes that maintenance of a safe, clean and healthful environment for students and staff is essential to learning. It is the goal of the District to provide safe and effective, pest control while protecting students, staff, the environment, and District properties and assets.
The District adopts a Least-Toxic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy. It is the policy of the District to focus and develop long-term pest prevention methods and give "non-chemical" methods first consideration when selecting appropriate control measures. The full range of alternatives will be considered, giving preference to non-chemical methods, and then chemicals that pose the least hazard to people and the environment.
Pest Management Objectives
Pests will be controlled to protect the health and safety of the students and staff; to maintain a productive learning environment; and, to maintain the integrity of the school buildings and grounds. Pest control will be economically feasible over the long term and efficacious. The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the district follows IPM procedures so as to use the most appropriate and least-hazardous method of control. Sanitary measures shall be enforced and buildings regularly cleaned and repaired in order to prevent infestations, minimize the use of pesticides, and eliminate routing spraying.
Definition of IPM
The Healthy Schools Act of 2000 defines IPM as "a pest management strategy that focuses on long-term prevention or suppression of pest problems through a combination of techniques such as monitoring for pest presence and establishing treatment threshold levels, using non-chemical practices to make the habitat less conducive to pest development, improving sanitation, and employing mechanical and physical controls. Pesticides that pose the least possible hazard and are effective in a manner that minimizes risks to people, property and the environment, are used only after careful monitoring indicates that they are needed according to pre-established guidelines and treatment thresholds." (Food and Agricultural Code 13181)
Elements of the Least-Toxic IPM Policy
* Monitoring to determine pest population levels and identify decisions and practices that could affect pest populations.
* Setting of injury and action levels to determine when vegetation or a pest population at a specific site cause(s) unacceptable economic or medical damage wherein corrective action should be taken.
* Modification of pest habitats to deter pest populations and minimize pest infestation.
* Consideration of a range of potential treatments for the pest problem, including prevention, mechanical, cultural, and biological methods of pest control, using synthetic chemical controls only as a last resort and only those chemicals that pose the least possible hazard to people and the environment.
* Abstain from using any pesticide product containing an ingredient known to the State of California to cause cancer, developmental toxicity, or reproductive toxicity, pursuant to the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, or any pesticide product containing an ingredient classified by the Unites States Environmental Protection Agency as a known, possible or probably human carcinogen, reproductive toxin, developmental toxin or known possible or probably endocrine disrupter.
Decision-Making Process
IPM Committee
The District shall establish an IPM Committee to provide guidance, education and advice regarding implementation of the IPM policy. The committee will review and approve the IPM Coordinator's plan and recommendations to the School Board of Education regarding all pest management practices. The Superintendent will appoint members of the committee which may include the following: Superintendent or designee, Board Member, IPM Coordinator, parent of District-enrolled student(s), certificated staff member, classified staff member and one community member at large.
IPM Coordinator
The Superintendent shall designate a staff person to coordinate the IPM program. The IPM coordinator shall be educated in the principles and practice of least-toxic IPM and be responsible for:
* Oversight for the successful implementation of the program consistent with this policy and coordinate all District efforts to adopt IPM.
* Overall program management and providing proposed regulations or procedures and products for use in managing pest populations.
* Formal annual notification to parents, staff and students of any chemical pesticide application not exempt from requirements of the Healthy Schools Act.
* Posting warning signs for pesticide applications.
* Establishing and maintaining a registry of parents, staff and students who have indicated that they desire prior notification of each pesticide application.
* Recordkeeping guidelines for any chemical pesticide applications.
* Education and training for IPM personnel.
* A list of approved procedures and products.
Training
Training of personnel is critical to the success of an IPM program. Staff, students, pest managers and the public shall be educated about potential school pest problems, the IPM Policy, and procedures that will be used to achieve the desired pest management objectives. Within five months of district adoption of this policy, the IPM Committee will agree on a plan to educate and train these constituencies.
Contractors
All pest control companies contracted by the District shall follow all provisions of the policy. Licensed and certified pest control operators are required to include information on any school pesticide application that they perform as part of their otherwise applicable reporting requirements.
Notification, Recordkeeping and Reporting
Annual Notification
The District shall annually provide to all staff, parents or guardians of pupils, enrolled at a school site, a written notification of all pesticide products to be used during the upcoming year. The notice shall identify the ingredients in each pesticide. The notice shall also contain the Internet address used to access information on pesticides and pesticide use reduction developed by the Department of Pesticide Regulation pursuant to Section 13184 of the Food and Agriculture Code.
Individual Notification of Pesticide Application
The annual written notification shall provide the opportunity for recipients to receive notification of individual pesticide application at the school facility. The designee shall notify persons who register for such notification of individual pesticide applications at least 72 hours prior to the application. The notice shall include the product name, the active ingredients and the intended date of application.
Posting Pesticide Applications
The District designee shall post warning signs at each area to be treated. The sign shall include the term "Warning/Pesticide Treated Area," the product name, manufacturers name, the EPA product registration number, date of application, area of application and the target pest. These signs shall be posted 24 hours prior to the application and remain for 72 hours after the application.
Application records
Each school site shall maintain records of pesticide use for a period of 4 years. These records shall be made available to the public upon request, pursuant to the California Public Records Act. (Education Code 17611)
Emergency Pesticide Applications
Pest control measures taken during an emergency, i.e., wherein the school district designee deems that the immediate use of a pesticide is necessary to protect the health and safety of pupils, staff or other persons, or the school site, shall not be subject to the notification requirements herein. However, the District designee shall make every effort to provide the required notification for an application of a pesticide under emergency conditions.
Exemptions from Notification, Recordkeeping and Reporting
Some pesticide products are exempt from notification, recordkeeping and reporting requirements. Pesticide products used as a self-contained bait or trap, gel or paste deployed as a crack and crevice treatment, any pesticide exempted under FIFRA (7 USC 25 (b)), or antimicrobial pesticides, including sanitizers and disinfectants, are exempt.
Policy PETALUMA CITY SCHOOLS
adopted: September 13, 2016 Petaluma, California