2.2 Schools, Pre-Schools & Child Care Centers: Restrictions, Registry Notification & Records

2.2 Schools, Pre-Schools & Child Care Centers: Restrictions, Registry Notification & Records

Rhode Island regulates pesticide use around children through a dedicated statutory scheme — R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 23-25-37 and 23-25-38 — mirrored in §§ 2.19(Q) and (R) of 250-RICR-40-15-2. It is one of the most operationally consequential bodies of Rhode Island-specific law for structural and turf applicators, because it changes who may apply, what may be applied, when it may be applied, and who must be told.

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1. Who May Apply (§ 23-25-37(b); § 2.19(Q))

On and after July 1, 2001, no person other than a licensed or certified commercial applicator may apply pesticide within any building or on the grounds of any school. A custodian, groundskeeper, or teacher may not do it, and neither may a volunteer parent.

For pre-schools, child day care centers, group/family day care homes, and family day care homes, § 23-25-38(a) applies the same rule from July 1, 2003, during regular business hours.

The Exempt Product List

Both the statute and § 2.19(Q) exempt a specific list of low-exposure products from the commercial-applicator-only requirement:

• Germicides, disinfectants, sanitizers, deodorizers, and antimicrobial agents
• Insecticidal gels
• Non-volatile insect or rodent bait in a tamper resistant container
• Insect repellants
• Insecticidal disks (listed in § 23-25-38 for pre-schools and child care)
• A pesticide classified by EPA as an exempt material under 40 CFR 152.25
• A pesticide application by public health officials during a state public health emergency
• The emergency application of a pesticide to eliminate an immediate threat to human health where it is impractical to obtain a licensed or certified applicator — provided the application does not involve a restricted use or state limited use pesticide

"Emergency" is statutorily defined as a sudden need to mitigate or eliminate a pest which threatens the health or safety of a student or staff member. A scheduled quarterly service is never an emergency.

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2. The Restricted Use Prohibition (§ 2.19(R))

This is the strictest provision in the scheme, and the one most often missed:

No person shall apply restricted use pesticides or state limited use pesticides in or around school property of grades preschool through twelve (12) at any time, without prior written approval from the school administration and the Department of Environmental Management.

Read the three operative elements:

1. "At any time" — the prohibition is not limited to school hours. Weekends, school vacations, and 2 a.m. are all covered.
2. "In or around school property" — it reaches the grounds and the perimeter, not merely the building interior.
3. Two separate written approvals are required — the school administration and DEM. One is not enough.

Two narrow exceptions: the subsection does not apply to pesticide applications by public health officials during a state public health emergency, nor to emergency situations where children's health and well being are at risk, such as stinging insects, poisonous plants, or other known life or health threatening pests. A ground nest of yellow jackets beside a playground is the textbook example.

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3. When Applications May Occur (§ 23-25-37(e))

On and after July 1, 2003, no application of pesticide may be made in any building or on the grounds of any school during regular school hours or during planned activities at any school. After the application, no child may enter the treated area until it is safe to do so according to the provisions on the pesticide label — that is, the label's restricted-entry or re-entry language governs, not the applicator's judgment.

Practically, this pushes school work to evenings, weekends, and vacation weeks, and it means the applicator must be able to read the label's entry restrictions and translate them into a time the school can safely reopen the space.

4. The Notification Chain

Rhode Island builds a three-part notification chain around every school application.

   ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │  START OF SCHOOL YEAR  — § 23-25-37(c)                                    │
   │  School gives ALL staff + parents/guardians:                              │
   │   • the written pesticide application policy                              │
   │   • a description of applications made during the PREVIOUS school year    │
   │   • notice that they may REGISTER for prior notice                        │
   │   • a description of the emergency notification procedures                │
   └───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                   ▼
   ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │  BEFORE EACH APPLICATION — § 23-25-37(d)                                  │
   │  Registered parents/guardians receive notice NO LATER THAN 24 HOURS       │
   │  before the application. Registered staff notified by any means           │
   │  practicable.                                                             │
   └───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                   ▼
   ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
   │  AFTER EACH APPLICATION — § 23-25-37(g)                                   │
   │  Notice to ALL parents/guardians and ALL staff, by any means practicable, │
   │  NOT LATER THAN ONE WEEK after the application.                           │
   │  Record of the application kept AT THE SCHOOL for FIVE (5) YEARS.         │
   └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Six Required Notice Elements

Both the 24-hour prior notice and the one-week post-application notice must contain the same six items:

1. The common or trade name and the name of the active ingredient
2. The EPA registration number as listed on the pesticide label
3. The target pest
4. The exact location of the application on the school property
5. The date of the application
6. The name of the school administrator, or a designee, who may be contacted for further information

Each school maintains a registry of persons requesting notice, and any modification to the school's pesticide policy must be sent to everyone on that registry. A parent or guardian of a child who transfers in during the school year must also be given the policy statement and the prior-year description.

Emergency Applications (§ 23-25-37(f))

A local school authority may make an emergency application without prior notice, provided it gives notice by any means practicable, on or before the day the application takes place, to anyone who has registered for prior notice.

Pre-Schools and Child Care Centers (§ 23-25-38(b))

The child care rule is simpler but tighter in one respect: notice of any pesticide application must be given to the parents or guardians of every enrolled child — not just those who registered — not later than twenty-four (24) hours before the application, using the same six content elements, with the sixth being the name of the pre-school or child care center owner/operator or their designee. There is no registry step; every parent gets notice.

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5. The Five-Year School Record

Section 23-25-37(g) closes with a retention rule that sits well outside the ordinary applicator regime:

"A copy of the record of each pesticide application at a school shall be maintained at the school for a period of five (5) years."

The applicator's own two-year file does not satisfy the school's five-year duty, and the record must be held at the school, not at the contractor's office. A competent commercial applicator servicing school accounts supplies the school a compliant copy of every application record and confirms the school is filing it.

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6. IPM in Schools

Section 23-25-37(a) directs DEM and the Department of Health jointly to develop regulations that (1) restrict the use of hazardous pesticides in schools, pre-schools, and child care centers, (2) promote and implement integrated pest management as defined in § 23-25.2-2, and (3) address emergency applications and their reporting.

The policy direction is unmistakable: in Rhode Island schools, pesticide application is the last tactic, not the first. Exclusion, sanitation, moisture control, monitoring, and mechanical controls — the tactics covered in Chapter 8 of this guide — are the expected front line. An applicator who arrives at a school account with a calendar-based spray program rather than a monitoring-and-thresholds program is out of step with the statute.

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7. Compliance Checklist for a School Account

• Confirm you hold a commercial license or certification — no unlicensed staff on this account, ever.
• Is the product restricted use or state limited use? If so, obtain written approval from both the school administration and DEM before any application, at any time of year.
• Schedule outside regular school hours and planned activities.
• Give the school the information it needs to notify its registry at least 24 hours in advance.
• Read the label's entry restriction and tell the school when children may safely re-enter.
• Provide a complete application record so the school can issue the one-week post-application notice and file the record for five years.
• For a pre-school or child care center, confirm notice went to every enrolled child's parent or guardian 24 hours ahead, and that the work is outside regular business hours.