Healthy Schools Act and Training
Protecting Children from Pesticide Exposure at Schools and Child Care Centers
When pesticides are used at California’s public K-12 schools and child care centers, our State’s Healthy Schools Act (HSA) defines specific requirements for school and child care center staff and pest management professionals.
The Healthy Schools Act encourages schools and child care centers—collectively referred to as schoolsites—to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) practices. IPM is an approach that uses the least toxic, effective method to solve pest problems.
At DPR, our role is to help schoolsites and pest management professionals comply with Healthy Schools Act requirements through training and other compliance support resources.
Understanding the Healthy Schools Act and its Requirements
The Healthy Schools Act is a complex law with sections appearing in four different government codes—the Education Code, the Food and Agricultural Code, the Business and Professions Code and the Health and Safety Code. We offer many resources to aid with Healthy Schools Act compliance.
Healthy Schools Act Training
We offer free online training and information that supports schools, child care centers, and pest management professionals with Healthy Schools Act compliance. Our online Healthy Schools Act training courses are suitable for different audiences with different pest management roles at schoolsites. These courses allow you to learn more about how to practice IPM at schoolsites and the safe use of pesticides at schoolsites.
Healthy Schools Act Compliance Forms
We provide Healthy Schools Act compliance form templates to make it easier for schools and child care centers to meet the law’s requirements.
School and Child Care Pesticide Use Reporting
The Healthy Schools Act requires that schools, child care centers, and pest control businesses annually report information about pesticide applications performed by their staff to DPR. For school and child care center staff, there are four specific exemptions to this reporting requirement. Separately, pest control businesses must report all registered pesticide applications made. In all cases, annual report forms are due to DPR by January 30 of the year following the calendar year in which the applications occurred. For example, applications made in 2022 were required to be reported by January 30, 2023.
We compile and analyze the annual schoolsite use data to support our work in facilitating the voluntary adoption of IPM at these sites. We also issue an annual School and Child Care Pesticide Use Report Summary and can provide school and child care center pesticide use data to the public by request.
SPM and IPM Resources for Schoolsites
We offer resources and training to help school and child care center staff or licensed pest management companies provide safe, effective, sustainable pest management in and around schools and child care centers.
Get News and Updates from our School or Child Care IPM Programs
We send out news and information to help schools and child care centers with Healthy Schools Act compliance and the adoption of IPM practices. Keep in the loop by subscribing to one or more of our Integrated Pest Management topic lists such as School IPM, Child Care IPM, IPM Resources and Updates (offered in English and Spanish), and more.
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Still have a Question or Need More Information About School or Child Care IPM?
We are available to assist with your School and Child Care IPM questions. Please contact us as shown below depending on your area of interest.
For School IPM questions:
Email: school-ipm@cdpr.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 324-3483
For Child Care IPM questions:
Email: ccipmlist@cdpr.ca.gov
Phone: (916) 445-3887
Sign Up for Email Updates
Keep in the loop by subscribing to one or more of our email distribution lists.
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Still have a Question or Need More Information?
Please contact us with questions or visit the Contact Us page on our website to connect with other programs at DPR.