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New Jersey School Intergrated
Pest Management (IPM) Program
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Laws and Regulations
This section is designed to outline the requirements
of the School IPM Law and explain the pending regulations
needed to supplement and carry out the law.
OVERVIEW OF THE LAW (download)
The School IPM Law supplements
existing laws and rules at the federal and state level regarding
pesticides. Detailed requirements already exist for pesticide
applicator licensing, proper pesticide use, sale, storage,
and transport. Pesticide product labels are an important component
related to school IPM. It is important to note that label
directions on pesticide products are the equivalent of federal
law and must be followed. However, states can be more stringent
than the pesticide label, but never less stringent (since
less stringent would violate federal law). One example in
the School IPM Law where New Jersey is more stringent than
pesticide labels is student re-entry into a pesticide treated
area. The use of certain pesticides will trigger a seven-hour
wait before students may re-enter the area, whereas those
pesticide label directions may say the students may re-enter
after "the spray has dried".
The requirements of the School
IPM Act to be implemented by June 12, 2004 are listed
below. Public school boards, trustees of charter schools,
and principals or lead administrators of private schools are
responsible for complying. The individual named by the school
as the IPM coordinator has joint responsibility for many of
the requirements as well.
1. IPM Policy and Plan: The law required that DEP develop a Model
IPM Policy in cooperation with the New Jersey School Boards
Association, the Department of Education, and Rutgers Cooperative
Extension, by December 12, 2003. Part of this Policy requires
the development of an Model IPM Plan which is a more detailed
and site-specific document that covers how the school will carry
out IPM on a day-to-day basis, and covers all elements of the
Policy in greater detail.
2. Schools Adopt the Policy: The law requires the superintendent of each public school district,
the board of trustees of a charter school, or the principal
or lead administrator of a private school to adopt and implement
a School IPM Policy consistent with the model mentioned
above. Public, private and charter schools with grades pre-kindergarten
through 12 must comply. Not covered by the law are colleges,
universities, or day care centers (unless the day care center
is on a school property).
3. IPM Coordinator: Each
public school board, charter school, or private school must appoint an IPM Coordinator to implement all aspects of the School IPM Policy and related Plan.
4. Record Keeping: The school must keep records of pesticide application on
school property at each school for three years after the date
of application and for five years after the application of a
pesticide for termite control. Records are obtained from the
licensed pesticide applicator performing the work.
5. Use of Low Impact Pesticides: Schools must consider the full range of pest management options
that IPM requires, and the law additionally requires a school
to consider using a low impact pesticide when it has been determined that pesticide use is needed.
6. Annual Notice: The
school must provide annual
notification at the beginning of each school year to all
staff and parents or guardians. This notice includes the school's
IPM Policy and other information about pesticide use at the
school, and a contact for further information. After the annual
notice is distributed at the beginning of the school year, new
staff and parents or guardians of new students must receive
this notice upon employment or enrollment, respectively.
7. 72 Hour Notification and
Posting: The school must provide prior notice and post signs
before the use of any pesticide (except that notification and
signs are not needed when low impact pesticides as defined by
the law are used). The notice must be given at least 72
hours before the pesticide application to all staff and
parents or guardians of students enrolled at the school. Additionally, signs must be posted at least 72 hours before the pesticide application. These requirements
apply when school is in session. During holiday periods or during
the summer months when school is not in session, only staff
and the parents or guardians of students using the school in
an authorized manner need to be notified.
The notice to staff and parents
or guardians may be by:
- Written note that the student takes home;
- Written note mailed at least one week prior;
- Phone call;
- Direct contact;
- Electronic mail.
The posted notice requirements are:
- Signs must be posted in or adjacent to area
of the pesticide application
- Signs must also be posted at each entrance
to the building or school ground being treated with pesticides
- The sign must be posted from 72 hours before
to 72 hours after the application
- The size of the sign must be at least 8.5
inches by 11 inches
Communication with the pest
control professional is essential for obtaining all necessary
information about the planned use of pesticides. Name and EPA
Registration number of pesticides to be used, dates and times
for the pesticide use, pesticide product labels, and Material
Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should all be available from the pesticide
applicator. Since the notices and signs must contain pesticide
label precautions that relate to public safety, and possible
adverse effects from the MSDS, IPM Coordinators must familiarize
themselves with these documents.
8. Emergency Pesticide Use: The law provides for slightly different notification
requirements in the event of a "school pest emergency" that is defined as an "urgent need to mitigate or eliminate a pest that threatens the health or safety of a student or staff
member." It is the responsibility of a school official
such as the IPM Coordinator to determine if an emergency exists.
One example of an emergency would be the presence of stinging
insects such as ground hornets in an athletic field where events
are scheduled. If a pest emergency exists, the school may use
pesticides, but the posting must be done at the time of the
application, and the emergency
notification to parents and staff must be done within 24
hours (or by the next school morning, whichever is earlier)
after the emergency application. The notice that goes to parents
and staff must explain what the reason for the emergency was,
and if possible, what could be done to prevent such an emergency
use next time.
9. Re-entry: The law requires schools and pesticide applicators to carefully time applications
and strictly control when students re-enter pesticide treated
areas. The following is a summary of these requirements:
- Applications of pesticides
(except for low impact pesticides) are not allowed in a
school building when students are present, unless the area
being treated is served by a separate ventilation system
and is separated from the untreated area by smoke or fire
doors.
- For applications of pesticides
(except for low impact pesticides) indoors or outdoors,
students are not allowed in treated areas prior to the time
allowed for re-entry on the pesticide product label. If
the label gives no hour-specific time for re-entry, then
the law mandates that seven (7) hours must pass before students
can re-enter.
- For applications of low
impact pesticides, students are not allowed to re-enter
until the pesticide application has dried or settled, or
if the label specifies a re-entry or ventilation time, until
that time has passed.
10. Additional Information
Responsibilities: The IPM Coordinator for the school is
jointly responsible along with the school itself, for carrying
out all aspects of the IPM program. Additional logistical items
the IPM Coordinator must comply with are:
- Maintaining information about
the IPM Policy and Plan in place at the school
- Maintaining information
about pesticide applications on school property including
records obtained from the pesticide applicator, MSDS when
available for pesticides used, and labels for all pesticide
products used.
- Maintaining records of any
pest monitoring or other IPM-related evaluations.
- Responding to inquiries
and providing information to students, staff, and parents
or guardians regarding IPM.
- Providing access to the
above information for public review.
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