TOXIC FREE SCHOOLS – SB 426

SB 426 is part of a three bill suite of environmental health bills lined up to protect children’s health from exposure to toxic chemicals. The goal of SB 426 is to improve transparency around pesticide use in Oregon schools and provide funding to support schools integrated pest management planning. When Oregon’s School Integrated Pest Management law was enacted in 2009, it did not allocate funding to the Department of Education or school districts to implement the law. As a result, many hazardous and unlawful pesticide applications have occurred on Oregon’s school campuses in the last thirteen years.

Beyond Toxics is disappointed that SB 426 failed to advance past the Joint Ways and Means Committee. SB 426 met every criteria to be a top priority for passage. We thank all our supporters for their outstanding oral and written testimonies this year and remain committed to passing this bill in the future!