Legislative Document 837: Restricts Pesticide Use for Private Schools

This bill would heavily restrict the use of pesticides on school grounds, and defines a "school" as "any public or private elementary school...". This definition would include not only regular brick-and-mortar private schools, but would also include non-approved private schools run by Maine families in their own homes. This inclusion could have bizarre and unintended consequences for parents who homeschool using this option.

Update: This bill was amended to replace the restrictions on pesticide use with a directive that the Department of Agriculture create and disseminate best management practices for the establishment and maintenance of school lawns, playgrounds and athletic fields, and to assess compliance with regulation of pesticides use in schools and on school grounds. Since this would in no way restrict non-approved private schools, HSLDA no longer opposes this bill in its current form.