Legislation mandating green cleaning in schools has been passed in seven states — New York, Illinois, Maryland, Hawaii, Connecticut, Iowa and Nevada — and now, individual school districts are making their own rules about green cleaning.
Later this month, the San Francisco Unified School District Board will consider the approval of a plan to expand its green cleaning program in an effort to reduce asthma attacks in children, according to this blog post on The Bay Citizen news website. Nearly 667,000 school-aged children are affected by asthma in the state, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Under the plan, all janitorial sinks would be retrofitted with specially designed faucets that release measured amounts of green cleaning agents. About half of the city's schools are already equipped with these spigots, thanks to a pilot program that retrofitted sinks in 43 schools. Enabling the use of green cleaning chemicals eliminates the need to use toxic chemical cleaners that trigger asthma, such as bleach.
The district may also establish a Green Cleaning Oversight Committee that would be charged with securing local, state and federal funds and private donations for the new taps. The committee will also formulate a green cleaning training program for janitors, food service workers, some teachers and parents.
The program is being developed with help from various health organizations and public health agencies, including the San Francisco Asthma Task Force, a group of educators, health and environmental officials tasked with examining local asthma rates.