School district administrators and Delaware health officials’ failure to notify school board members and parents of lead test results has prompted one school board to file a complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency.
Frustrated with the lack of communication and information regarding the statewide lead testing effort in schools, the Red Clay school board Wednesday evening voted 4-3 to submit a complaint to the EPA against the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and the state Department of Education.
“The Red Clay School Board was not apprised of the grant, the sampling, the results, or their (sic) implications for the health of our students, staff, and others who use our buildings as is required by the 3Ts,” board members wrote. “Instead, the Red Clay School Board first learned about this sampling program and the results from an article published in the newspaper on Monday, Oct. 3.”
Delaware began taking water samples from the state’s 19 school districts and 25 charter schools in late 2020 and continued sampling through this year, but those results were never released publicly − a move that runs counter to the expectations laid out for recipients of federal dollars to do lead testing.
TEST RESULTS:Elevated levels of lead detected in water sources at 47 Delaware schools
COMMUNICATION LACKING:Why Delaware schools waited a year to alert public to elevated lead levels
The $209,000 grant Delaware received from the EPA’s Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program helped fund lead testing in schools statewide. With those funds, recipients are expected to follow the EPA’s “3Ts” ‒ training, testing and taking action ‒ and make test results publicly available. First among the recommendations is communicating information to parents and staff “early and often.”
Both state education and health officials have said the onus is on the individual school districts to notify parents and staff.
ALL ABOUT LEAD:How it gets into drinking water and can harm you
However, what instructions state officials gave school administrators on communicating test results is murky. When news broke on the lead test results, the Colonial School District said in an online memo that state officials advised educators they did not have to share results because more “extensive testing” would be conducted.
Red Clay school board members in the letter to the EPA challenged the federal agency to provide a response outlining how it will correct its own failures to provide oversight and ensure communication of test results from entities receiving grant funds.
Whether the federal agency can enforce the expectations for receiving grant money is unclear. The 3Ts document that outlines guidance for testing for lead in water at schools and child care facilities warns early in the 80-page manual that none of the recommendations outlined are requirements, only suggestions.
Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com, or by calling 302-598-5507. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.
