Moisture problems in school buildings can be caused by a variety of conditions, including roof and plumbing leaks, condensation, and excess humidity. Some moisture problems in schools have been linked to changes in building construction practices during the past twenty to thirty years. These changes have resulted in more tightly sealed buildings that may not allow moisture to escape easily. Moisture problems in schools are also associated with delayed maintenance or insufficient maintenance, due to budget and other constraints. Temporary structures in schools, such as trailers and portable classrooms, have frequently been associated with moisture and mold problems (EPA).
Syndicate
Welcome! SMH is a nonprofit that promotes healthier school buildings! Damp schools? Toxic mold? ...More...
Read about toxic mold in an unhealthy high school sports fieldhouse
News Alert! WI passes IAQ law for public and private schools
The Black family working with WI Senator Kathy Stepp and Senator Dale Schultz to provide healthier schools for all WI children
Wisconsin has passed its first indoor air quality bill for public and private schools (Nov. 5, 2009) with the help of Wisconsin school mold activist Jeanne Black and her family. Read the bill, link below... More to come... (SMH)
Pictured above Darlington Elementary/Middle School, Darlington, WI and one of its interior HVAC vents, covered with dust and tested positive for toxic molds by both parent and district testing. Parent used SMH suggested tests to document. (top left and middle photos by J. Black, right photo from News 3, WI)
With deepest gratitude to the Black family of Wisconsin, we are pleased to announce Wisconsin SB-41, passed, overwhelmingly, on November 5, 2009 by the state legislature. Jeanne Black and her family have worked to educate the state lawmakers about the problem of damp schools and school mold that permanently and severely damaged their daughter, Jade's health, as she attended Darlington, WI schools. The Black family worked tirelessly for five years, with the educational support and advocacy of The Center for School Mold Help, to ensure that Wisconsin schools would one day be safe places to learn, a model for the nation. This path has been formally embarked upon, by the passage of SB 41. Governor Doyle will sign the bill into law, in December, 2009.
SMH will add media coverage and more about the bill over the coming days.
A note from Jeanne Black:
"Senate Bill 41 Indoor Air Quality in our public schools was voted into law on Nov 5th, 2009 by WI Assembly. WI now has its first indoor air quality law for public and private schools. Governor Doyle will be signing this into law December 2009. My family has been invited to the Governors office for the bill signing."
We hope that this is an inspiration to parents and activists throughout the 50 states and beyond, that we need not tolerate a system that produces ill health - through education, there is power. With persistence, there are results. Share this law with your state legislators to see if they, too, can craft legislation to protect children in school environments. (SMH)
On SMH site: public article posted earlier in the fall, 2009:
Scroll down to bottom of this page for SMH Premium Content articles about Jeanne Black's activism, her family's story, working in her state to produce awareness and solutions, and more. Subscribing helps us pay for this website.
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Subject: Notification of Legislative Activity
You requested to be notified of the following legislative activities:
Proposal: SB-41 (09-0215) Bill History: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/2009/data/SB41hst.html
Relating to: indoor environmental quality in public and private schools.
SB-41 was concurred in by the Assembly on November 5, 2009
To receive notifications visit Wisconsin Legislative Notifications Website at http://notify.legis.state.wi.us
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(Note: This bill was also called AB 358, as it moved first through the WI State Assembly in Sept., 2009.)
2009 − 2010 LEGISLATURE 2009 SENATE BILL 41
February 5, 2009 − Introduced by Senators SULLIVAN, OLSEN, MILLER, HANSEN,
VINEHOUT, LASSA, TAYLOR, DARLING, ERPENBACH, SCHULTZ, RISSER and LEHMAN,
cosponsored by Representatives GRIGSBY, POPE−ROBERTS, CULLEN,
HILGENBERG, BLACK, BENEDICT, FIELDS, BERCEAU, MASON, TOLES, HINTZ,
MOLEPSKE JR., ZEPNICK, HEBL, POCAN, PARISI, MILROY, ROYS and HIXSON.
Referred to Committee on Education.
AN ACT to amend 119.04 (1); and to create 118.075 and 119.23 (7) (g) of the
statutes; relating to: indoor environmental quality in public and private
schools.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill directs the state superintendent of public instruction to establish the
Indoor Environmental Quality in Schools Task Force consisting of the state
superintendent, the secretary of commerce, the secretary of health services, and
eleven members representing various school or health−related groups and
associations.
The bill directs the task force to make recommendations to the Department of
Public Instruction (DPI) for the development of a model management plan for
maintaining indoor environmental quality in public and private schools. After the
task force submits its findings and recommendations, DPI must establish a model
management plan and practices for maintaining indoor environmental quality in
public and private schools. After the establishment of the model plan, each school
board and the governing body of each private school that is participating in the
Milwaukee Parental Choice Program must implement a plan for maintaining indoor
environmental quality in its school or schools.
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SENATE BILL 41
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SECTION 1. 118.075 of the statutes is created to read:
118.075 Indoor environmental quality in schools. (1) DEFINITION. In this
section, “task force” means the indoor environmental quality in schools task force
established under sub. (2).
(2) TASK FORCE. (a) The state superintendent shall establish a special
committee under s. 15.04 (1) (c) called the indoor environmental quality in schools
task force. The task force shall consist of the following members:
1. The state superintendent or his or her designee.
2. The secretary of commerce or his or her designee.
3. The secretary of health services or his or her designee.
4. One member who is a representative of the Wisconsin Association of School
Boards.
5. One member who is a representative of the Wisconsin Association of School
District Administrators.
6. Three members who are representatives of the Wisconsin Association of
School Business Officials and who have expertise in indoor environmental quality
in schools.
7. One member who is a representative of the Wisconsin Council of Religious
and Independent Schools.
8. One member who is a representative of the Wisconsin Association of School
Nurses.
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SENATE BILL 41 SECTION 1
9. One member who is a representative of the largest statewide labor
organization representing teachers.
10. One member who is a representative of the largest statewide organization
representing parents of pupils.
11. One member who is an occupational health physician or allergist and who
has expertise in indoor environmental quality in schools.
12. One member who is registered as an architect under ch. 443 and who has
expertise in school design and construction.
13. One member who is registered as a professional engineer under ch. 443 and
who has expertise in the design of mechanical systems for schools.
14. Two members who are industrial hygienists certified by the American
Board of Industrial Hygiene and who have expertise in indoor environmental quality
in schools.
(b) The state superintendent shall appoint the members of the task force
specified in par. (a) 4. to 14., shall appoint or determine the method of appointment
of the officers of the task force, and shall call the first meeting of the task force.
(c) The department shall provide administrative support services to the task
force. The task force may call upon any state agency or officer to assist the task force,
and those agencies or officers shall cooperate with the task force to the fullest extent
possible. The department may contract with professionals who are knowledgeable
and experienced in indoor environmental quality management in schools to assist
the task force in making its recommendations under par. (e) 1.
(d) The department of administration shall reimburse members of the task
force for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in carrying out their functions
from the appropriation account under s. 20.505 (1) (ka).
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SENATE BILL 41 SECTION 1
(e) The task force shall do all of the following:
1. Make recommendations to the department for the development of a model
management plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in public and
private schools that reflects best management practices. The task force shall
consider including in its recommendations all of the following components:
a. Designating a school district or private school employee as the indoor
environmental quality contact for the school district or private school.
b. Establishing an indoor environmental quality committee composed of school
administrators, teachers, educational support professionals, and custodial and
maintenance staff.
c. Developing a plan for communicating with school district or private school
employees, pupils, and parents and guardians of pupils about indoor environmental
quality problems, including test results, and proposed schedules for remediation.
d. Identifying procedures for handling complaints about indoor environmental
quality.
e. Acknowledging that the school district or private school will continue to meet
all health and safety laws or codes that apply to the school district or private school.
f. Developing a plan for addressing indoor environmental quality issues noted
during an evaluation of building systems performed in accordance with department
rules on safe and healthful facilities.
g. Providing for an annual review of the management plan by the indoor
environmental quality contact and the school board or private school governing
board.
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SENATE BILL 41 SECTION 1
2. Recommend indoor environmental quality training requirements for school
district or private employees who are responsible for the operation and maintenance
of schools.
3. Recommend educational materials relating to indoor environmental quality
in schools.
4. Recommend model specifications for the design and construction of school
facilities and for additions and structural alterations to school facilities that promote
indoor environmental quality and that ensure that the building’s systems are
planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to perform efficiently
and to meet the school district’s or private school’s needs.
(f) Upon completing its duties under par. (e), the task force shall report its
findings and recommendations to the appropriate standing committees of the
legislature under s. 13.172 (3) and to the governor. The task force shall cease to exist
on the date on which the department issues its model management plan under sub.
(3).
(3) INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN SCHOOLS MODEL MANAGEMENT PLAN. By the
first day of the 12th month beginning after the month in which the task force submits
its report under sub. (2) (f), the department shall establish a model management plan
and practices for maintaining indoor environmental quality in public and private
schools. In developing the plan and practices, the department shall consider the
recommendations of the task force.
(4) SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANS. (a) By the first day of the 3rd month beginning after
the month in which the department establishes the model management plan and
practices under sub. (3), each school board shall provide for the development of a plan
for maintaining indoor environmental quality in its schools.
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SENATE BILL 41 SECTION 1
(b) By the first day of the 12th month beginning after the month in which the
department establishes the model management plan and practices under sub. (3),
each school board shall implement a plan for maintaining indoor environmental
quality in its schools.
(c) Each school board shall provide a copy of the plan implemented under par.
(b) to any person upon request.
SECTION 2. 119.04 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
119.04 (1) Subchapters IV, V and VII of ch. 115, ch. 121 and ss. 66.0235 (3) (c),
66.0603 (1m) to (3), 115.01 (1) and (2), 115.28, 115.31, 115.33, 115.34, 115.343,
115.345, 115.361, 115.365 (3), 115.38 (2), 115.445, 115.445, 115.45, 118.001 to 118.04,
118.045, 118.06, 118.07, 118.075, 118.10, 118.12, 118.125 to 118.14, 118.145 (4),
118.15, 118.153, 118.16, 118.162, 118.163, 118.164, 118.18, 118.19, 118.20, 118.24 (1),
(2) (c) to (f), (6) and (8), 118.245, 118.255, 118.258, 118.291, 118.30 to 118.43, 118.51,
118.52, 118.55, 120.12 (5) and (15) to (26), 120.125, 120.13 (1), (2) (b) to (g), (3), (14),
(17) to (19), (26), (34), (35), (37), (37m), and (38), 120.14, 120.21 (3), and 120.25 are
applicable to a 1st class city school district and board.
SECTION 3. 119.23 (7) (g) of the statutes is created to read:
119.23 (7) (g) 1. By the first day of the 3rd month beginning after the month
in which the department establishes the model management plan and practices for
maintaining indoor environmental quality in public and private schools under s.
118.075 (3), or by October 1 of a private school’s first school year of participation in
the program under this section, whichever is later, the private school shall provide
for the development of a plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in the
private school.
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SENATE BILL 41 SECTION 3
2. By the first day of the 12th month beginning after the month in which the
department establishes the model management plan and practices for maintaining
indoor environmental quality in public and private schools under s. 118.075 (3), or
by the beginning of the 2nd school year of participation in the program under this
section, whichever is later, the private school shall implement a plan for maintaining
indoor environmental quality in the private school.
3. Each private school participating in the program under this section shall
provide a copy of the plan implemented under subd. 2. to any person upon request.
SECTION 4.0Effective date.
(1) INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN SCHOOLS. This act takes effect on the first
day of the 2nd month beginning after publication.
(END)
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Air quality bill passes Assembly Education Committee
Posted: 10/20/2009 12:10:42 PM
The Assembly Education Committee on Tuesday (October 20) approved a bill that puts an emphasis on improving school building air quality. The bill passed the committee by an 8-5 party line vote.
Additionally, the Senate version of the School Indoor Environmental Quality Bill, SB 41, was approved by the Senate on a vote of 27-5.
Here is our original story on the bill:
Providing for our students’ education can mean more than textbooks and curriculum – it can mean a safe place to learn with clean air to breathe.
WEAC members are supporting a State Assembly bill to protect the health and safety of students and school staff. Assembly Bill 358 will provide school districts with expertise and guidance from a state task force of diverse members that will develop recommendations for a model management plan for maintaining indoor environmental quality in schools. Additionally, the bill will ensure that over time all school districts adopt and implement a locally developed plan to maintain indoor environmental quality in their school buildings.
The Senate Education Committee unanimously recommended the bill’s passage on Thursday (September 10).
Jackie Vandenberg, a 20-year teacher, said she fears the 115-year-old West Bend school she teaches in could be behind some of her respiratory problems. Vandenberg said school building environment issues shouldn’t be factors in education.
“I am now extremely nervous about spending time in this old building, and I would like to instead be able to focus on my passion, which is teaching my 500-plus students. I fear that my environment will affect my health and the health of the students,” Vandenberg said. “Other teachers in my building have also had environmental issues and related health concerns, including those of mold growth and sewage that backed up into classroom cupboards.”
More than 20 states have passed laws to address indoor environmental quality in schools. Schools throughout Wisconsin are struggling with air quality concerns such as mold, fungi, asbestos, carbon dioxide, and poor ventilation. Left unaddressed, such issues can lead to health problems, reduced student academic achievement and teacher performance, accelerated school building deterioration, school closings, and student and staff relocation – all major disruptions of the learning process.
“Assembly Bill 358 would provide schools with the tools to better manage indoor environmental quality issues and would require that all school districts have a policy in place regarding indoor environmental quality that would meet the needs of their students and staff,” Vandenberg said.
In addition to the school environmental quality bill, the Senate Education Committee also recommended for passage a bill requiring instruction on the history of organized labor and collective bargaining as well as a bill on school safety plans, pupil records and school bullying. (UPDATE: This bill was approved, SB 154, was approved by the Senate on a vote of 29-3.)
Our SMH letter of commentary on the preliminary state bill, AB 358, read to the State Legislators by Jeanne Black, Sept., 2009.
Re: AB 358, IAQ in Schools (2009) State of
WI
To Whom It May Concern,
As the Director and Founder of The Center for School Mold Help, a national, educational, 501c3 nonprofit that has served for five years as an authority on school mold, I appreciate the opportunity to offer commentary related to IAQ in Schools AB 358 (2009), for the State of Wisconsin. The Center for School Mold Help provides an online repository of science-based information on the topic of school mold prevention and solutions, located at www.schoolmoldhelp.org. Our science advisors include Dr. David C. Straus (TX Tech U Center for Indoor Air Research, Sick Building Syndrome & Fungi researcher), Dr. Kaye Kilburn (USC School of Medicine, Environmental Medicine expert on toxic exposures), and Dr. Ritchie Shoemaker (biotoxin researcher and treating physician for mold-related illnesses).
Good indoor air quality in schools is imperative for the good health of our children and school staff, which, together, comprise 20% of the population of the United States, per the US EPA. As students cycle through our nation's schools, this includes all our citizens, ultimately. The health of our children and adults determines our country's productivity, impacting the economy of each community, state and the nation as a whole. An unhealthy citizenry is costly in many ways. Preventing and addressing damp or moldy public environments that can profoundly impact health is a wise and necessary course.
"Healthy indoor air is recognized as a basic right. People spend a large part of their
time each day indoors: in homes, offices, schools, health care facilities, or other
private or public buildings. The quality of the air they breathe in those buildings
is an important determinant of their health and well-being. The inadequate control
of indoor air quality therefore creates a considerable health burden.
Indoor air pollution – such as from dampness and mould, chemicals and other
biological agents – is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide." (WHO, 2009)http://www.euro.who.int/document/E92645.pdf
Environmental illnesses from damp buildings can cause multiple organ syndromes, including respiratory, immune system, and neurological disorders, according to authoritative sources, researchers, and treating physicians. The Center for School Mold Help is contacted continuously by parents and school staff who have become severely sickened, often with chronic, multiple, costly illnesses, as a result of occupying damp school buildings. Some previously health people die from these illnesses. We often hear of classrooms and buildings where a chain of teachers have been hired to work, following the severe illness, disabling conditions, and/or death of the previous teacher(s), due to the environmental hazards at the site - yet each one was never told of the risks nor the previous colleague's health problems till it is too late to avoid a similar outcome. Large numbers of unfortunate students cycle through these sick schools, also - many contracting serious, alarming diseases and health conditions, often not connected by their families or physicians to the environment until it is too late for them to regain good health. The sharp, costly increase in asthma is one of the likely results, according to mold researchers, though it may be just the "tip of the iceberg". The increase in autism, now estimated at 1 out of 100, may be associated with exposure to biotoxins, according to some researchers and physicians.
Poor construction methods, designs, and materials in a school building may cause dampness and mold to develop in new schools as well as older ones. This creates an enormous financial and health burden on the community, when a new school is moldy or leaky from "day one". School districts often use these damp buildings, despite the toxic molds that develop within, many times, denying the problems or using ineffective means to address them. We hear of this all the time, unfortunately. Like elsewhere in the nation, some schools in your state have experienced chronic mold and dampness problems, such as the DarlingtonMiddle School, with parents complaining of chronic illness in some children who have attended the school. The impact on the families is profound - some of these formerly healthy, productive students become seriously disabled and unemployable This is a preventable tragedy, with appropriate laws to address the causes and remedies.
Due to the lack of strong laws, with accountability built in, that require healthy building designs, materials, construction methods, and strict maintenance or remediation (if needed) of the buildings, Wisconsin taxpayers, students, families, and your healthcare system will bear the burden of "sick schools". This will continue for the lifetime of these buildings and their mitigation efforts, with results that reach far into the future, especially related to people who have been sickened inside.
The establishment of a task force will be helpful, with laws needed, swiftly. I suggest that your state legislators and the task force study the WHO Guidelines for Indoor Air Quality: Dampness and Mould and the EPA Mold in Schools and Commercial Buildings, and NY DOH Guidelines for Mold Remediation, as a basis for the model to be swiftly developed and legislated. Another resource is The Collaborative for High Performing Schools, found online at http://www.chps.net. I suggest that the school environmental health laws enacted by the State of CT be examined and improved on, with more accountability and monitoring by the state built in. I strongly suggest that school boards and superintendents be educated on the topic and held accountable for decisions they make regarding indoor air quality. Leaving these decisions up to uninformed individuals who may not make this one of the highest priorities doesn't work. Educate your health departments and state OSHA, and swiftly develop mandatory standards and accountability for dampness, mold, and remediation in all of your state's buildings. Our organization is willing to help with these efforts.
I suggest that your state require, as a solution for those parents and students who wish it, schools with ongoing leak and mold issues to provide alternative, agreed-upon, healthy school buildings or transfers to these, even if it is to another public or private school at a distance, with transportation. That will promote the school districts to take water damage and leaks, mold prevention far more seriously. The most susceptible students need to continue their educations in a safe, healthy environment, immediately, while they can still retrieve their health, through avoidance of moldy environments. Once sensitized, infinitely small amounts of mold will trigger illness. This needs to be understood and avoided. Those already ill must be accommodated, per the Americans with Disabilities Act. Parents need an agency to call for help, within your state, and receive meaningful intervention and options, when their child's school is causing illness.
This is a national crisis - our school-aged children are increasingly developing chronic respiratory diseases and immune-system disorders. The people in the moldy buildings cannot wait years for legislative solutions. I ask that your state take the strongest possible, most urgent action to legislate solutions and mandate healthy schools. One cannot wait when every day counts and one is being, literally, poisoned inside toxic school buildings.
Our children and schools hold our future. We cannot allow indoor mold and dampness to destroy the future of your lovely state, nor our nation.
AB 358 is a step in the right direction. I hope WI's state legislators will provide pioneering healthy schools legislation to safeguard your children and citizenry from school mold and dampness.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment, and for your interest in protecting the health of the children of the state of Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Susan Brinchman
Director, The Center for School Mold Help PO Box 655 La Mesa, CA91944 www.schoolmoldhelp.org
