PRINTER'S NO. 2570
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2011
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY GREEN, KHAN, ORTITAY, MAJOR, HADDOCK, HOGAN,
DONAHUE, HILL-EVANS, MADDEN, KENYATTA, SCHLOSSBERG, HANBIDGE,
JAMES, PROBST, McNEILL, MIHALEK, BOYD, MALAGARI, STEELE,
MENTZER, SANCHEZ, PARKER, CERRATO, CIRESI, MAYES, TOMLINSON,
OTTEN, DALEY, O'MARA, KRAJEWSKI AND SHUSTERMAN,
FEBRUARY 5, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, FEBRUARY 5, 2024
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in grounds and buildings, providing
for certified point-of-use filter required; establishing the
Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund; and making an interfund
transfer.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known
as the Public School Code of 1949, is amended by adding a
section to read:
Section 743. Certified Point-of-Use Filter Required.--(a)
By January 1, 2026, each school entity shall:
(1) Ensure that all drinking water outlets in each school
building within the school entity are equipped with certified
point-of-use filters.
(2) Remove and replace existing drinking water fountains
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without certified point-of-use filters with bottle-filling
stations or drinking fountains equipped with certified point-of-
use filters at the rate of at least one (1) per one hundred
(100) students and staff.
(3) Set up a filter maintenance and oversight schedule for
all certified point-of-use filters installed under this
subsection. The school entity shall follow the manufacturer's
recommended maintenance and replacement protocols for all
equipment and certified point-of-use filters installed under
this subsection.
(4) Ensure that all new drinking water outlets purchased for
installation at a school building do not leach more than one (1)
microgram of lead for test statistic Q or R, when normalized for
a first draw sample up to or equal to one (1) liter in volume,
as calculated in accordance with 2020 NSF International Standard
61, which became effective in 2020, and certified by an American
National Standards Institute-accredited third party.
(b) To comply with the provisions of subsection (a), a
school entity may:
(1) Seek the assistance of a local board of health or a
public water system.
(2) Apply for a grant under subsection (c).
(c) The department shall develop a grant program for
eligible school entities as provided under this subsection. The
following shall apply:
(1) A grant award shall be used for:
(i) The installation of certified point-of-use filters on
drinking water outlets.
(ii) The replacement of drinking water fountains with
bottle-filling stations or drinking fountains equipped with
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certified point-of-use filters.
(2) Within three (3) months of the effective date of this
paragraph, the department shall issue guidelines on the grant
program under this subsection and develop and make available an
application for grant funding on the department's publicly
accessible Internet website.
(3) The following shall receive preference for a grant
under this subsection:
(i) School buildings built before 2014.
(ii) School buildings that include students in
prekindergarten.
(4) Each school entity:
(i) Applying for a grant under this subsection shall submit
the following information with the application:
(A) The number of existing drinking water outlets with lead-
filtering systems within each respective school building for
which the school entity is applying for funding.
(B) The number of drinking water outlets without lead-
filtering systems within each respective school building for
which the school entity is applying for funding.
(C) The number of students and staff enrolled or employed in
each respective school building for which the school entity is
applying for funding at the time of application.
(ii) Awarded a grant under this subsection shall maintain
and post the information submitted to the department under
subparagraph (i) on the school entity's publicly accessible
Internet website.
(iii) Shall:
(A) Designate an employe to serve as the contact person for
communications with the department and the public regarding the
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certified point-of-use filter installation and shall post the
contact information of the designated employe on the school
entity's publicly accessible Internet website.
(B) Post on the school entity's publicly accessible Internet
website information on the public health effects and risks posed
by lead in drinking water and information on the availability of
additional resources concerning lead in drinking water, as
outlined in the technical guidance under subsection (f).
(C) Publish at each drinking water outlet the maintenance
schedule and log for installed certified point-of-use filters at
that drinking water outlet.
(D) Post at every nondrinking water outlet "not for
drinking."
(5) The following shall apply to school entities:
(i) A school entity that receives a grant under this
subsection shall report back to the Department of Education and
Department of Environmental Protection within 18 months that the
work has been completed, which the Department of Education shall
post on the department's publicly accessible Internet website.
(ii) By August 1, 2024, each school entity shall submit a
report containing the school entity's plan to comply with this
section to the Department of Education and the Department of
Environmental Protection, which will post the report on their
respective publicly accessible Internet websites within 60 days
of receiving the report.
(d) The department may award up to ten million dollars
($10,000,000) in grants each fiscal year for the three (3)
fiscal years following the effective date of this section.
(e) The Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund is established as a
separate fund in the State Treasury. Money in the fund shall be
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appropriated to the department on a continuing basis for the
purpose of awarding grants under this section.
(f) The department shall develop technical guidance for
standards and regular maintenance of bottle-filling stations or
drinking fountains with certified point-of-use filters.
(g) The department, in consultation with the Department of
Education and the Department of Health, shall promulgate rules
and regulations necessary to implement this section.
(h) The department, the Department of Education and the
Department of Health shall share information, databases and
analyses and use risk assessment tools, data, mapping and any
other information that is available to the departments to ensure
that funding is targeted to school entities in this Commonwealth
with the most need to eliminate lead from school drinking water.
(i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to place
additional requirements on a school entity that, prior to the
effective date of this subsection, has already taken measures
which, in the judgment of the department, permanently eliminate
the risk of elevated lead levels in the school entity's water at
all drinking water outlets.
(j) For purposes of this section:
"Certified point-of-use filter" means a filter that includes
a light or other device to indicate filter replacement status
installed at the point where water is dispensed from an outlet
and is certified to the NSF/ANSI 53 standard for lead reduction
and NSF/ANSI 42 standard for particulate reduction (Class I) in
effect on the effective date of this section. The certification
body shall be accredited by the American National Standards
Institute National Accreditation Board.
"Department" means the Department of Environmental Protection
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of the Commonwealth.
"Drinking water outlet" means a drinking fountain, faucet,
tap or other end point for delivery of water used for drinking
or food preparation, including ice-making and hot drink
machines.
"Elevated lead level" means lead concentration levels in
drinking water that exceed one part per billion.
"Nondrinking water outlet" means a faucet, tap or other end
point for delivery of water used for any purpose other than
drinking or food preparation.
"School building" shall mean a building owned by or under the
control of a school entity where classes are taught or
extracurricular activities are conducted on a regular basis.
"School entity" shall mean a school district, charter school,
cyber charter school, regional charter school, intermediate
unit, area career and technical school, private school or
nonpublic school.
Section 2. The sum of $30,000,000 is transferred from the
General Fund to the Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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