School Environment Protection Act (SEPA)

Your Congressmembers need to hear from you. Let them know how you feel about school pesticide use, pesticide disclosure in schools, and alternative pest control approaches.

Communities across the country are acting in increasing numbers to protect children from pesticides used at their schools, yet there are no national protections or standards for children. To correct this situation and ensure national leadership in protecting children from a daily dose of toxic chemicals in their classrooms, playgrounds and ballfields, we need your support on exciting federal legislation, entitled the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA).

SEPA is intended to set in place a process that creates incentives for schools to use pest management practices that do not rely on toxic pesticides. The legislation clearly defines preventive and least toxic pest management strategies in schools. It also requires safety findings on pesticides used in schools, specifically addressing adverse effects, such as cancer, genetic mutations, birth defects, reproductive dysfunction, neurological and immune system effects, endocrine system disruption, as well as pesticides rated as acutely and moderately toxic. Under the bill, if toxic pesticides are used in a school, parents, guardians, and staff will receive advance notice of use and information on product hazards.

This national effort has grown out of incredible success at the local and state level in adopting policies that protect children from pesticides and begin to establish pest management strategies that do not rely on pesticides. However, the majority of school children in the U.S. remain unprotected. The time is right for national protection.

During the 106th Congressional session, SEPA was sponsored by U.S. Senators Torricelli (NJ), Murray (OR), Lieberman (CT), Dodd (CT), Sarbanes (MD), Mikulski (MD) and Kerry (MA) and was referred to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. Original Senate co-sponsors will be re-introducing the bill at the beginning of the 107th congressional session.

U.S. Representative Holt (NJ) introduced SEPA (H.R. 111) during the current 107th Congressional session. SEPA has been referred to the House Agriculture Committee. During the 106th Congressional session, Representatives Barrett (WI), Capuano (MA), Conyers (MI), DeLauro (CT), Forbes (NY), Gutierrez (IL), Hoeffel (PA), Kucinich (OH), Larson (CT), McCarthy (NY), Millender-McDonald (CA), Miller (CA), Mink (HI), Moran (VA), Rivers (MI), Slaughter (NY), Udall (CO), and Wu (OR) were co-sponsors of the bill.

TAKE ACTION - WRITE TO CONGRESS - USE OUR SAMPLE LETTER.

Send a letter to your Congressmembers, click here for a SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESS. Determine who your Senators and Representatives are by visiting the U.S. Senate website at http://www.senate.gov/senators/senator_by_state.cfm or the U.S. House of Representatives website at http://www.house.gov/writerep/.

Show your support for the School Environment Protection Act (SEPA)

Let your U.S. Senators and U.S Representative know how you feel about the necessity of protecting children and teachers from pesticide exposure at school. I will contact the following Congressmembers to ask that he/she co-sponsor the legislation. (click here for sample letter)

Download support form(PDF)



For additional information on SEPA, please contact Kagan Owens (kowens@beyondpesticides.org), Program Director at Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP.

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