National Concern
School IPM is receiving national attention. Since the year 2000, Congress has considered two bills to mandate School IPM at the federal level: the School Environmental Protection Act and the Children's Environmental Protection Act (SEPA and CEPA, respectively).
Both acts proposed to regulate pesticide use in locations where children might be exposed (schools). Both amendments passed the U.S. Senate but failed to pass the House. In October 2001, another version of the SEPA passed the U.S. Senate as part of the Farm Bill, but failed in committee as of 2002.
As of January 2003, School IPM is not a federal mandate. However, the repeated introduction of amendments like SEPA to the Farm Bill and other bills indicates a groundswell of national support for mandating reduced pesticide use in U.S. public schools.
