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Green Cleaning Program

Wed, 2013-03-13 14:27 — wzesner

 
Public Act #09-81 effective on or before July 1, 2011, each local and regional Board of Education shall implement a Green Cleaning Program for the cleaning and maintenance of school buildings and facilities in its district. No person shall use a cleaning product inside a school unless such cleaning product meets guidelines or environmental standards set by a national or international environmental certification program approved by the Department of Administrative Services, in consultation with the Commissioner of Environmental Protection. Such cleaning product shall, to the maximum extent possible, minimize the potential harmful impact on human health and the environment. Our program has expanded to incorporate the use of green cleaning micro- fiber cloths as well as the use of green cleaning equipment that is operated with batteries thus saving electricity while using significantly less water and cleaning product. On or before October 1, 2010 and annually thereafter, each local and regional Board of Education shall provide the staff of each school, and upon request, the parents and guardians of each child enrolled in each school, with a written statement of the school district's Green Cleaning Program. Such notice shall include
1.       The types and names of environmentally preferable cleaning products being applied in schools 
2.       The location of the application of such cleaning products in the school buildings and facilities 
3.       The schedule of when such cleaning products are applied in the school buildings and facilities 
4.       The statement, "no parent, guardian, teacher or staff member may bring into the school facility any consumer product which is intended to clean, deodorize, sanitize or disinfect" 
5.       The name of the school administrator or designee who may be contacted for further information 
Such notice shall be provided to the parents or guardians of any child who transfers to a school during the school year and to staff hired during the school year. Each local or regional Board of Education shall make such notice, as well as the report submitted to the Department of Education pursuant to subsection (a) of section 10-220 of the general statutes, as amended by this act, available on its web site and the web site of each school under such Board's jurisdiction. If no such web site exists, the Board shall make such notice otherwise publicly available.
For more information on Green Cleaning, visit the following web sites:
 
 

CT Department of Public Health

 

CT School Green Cleaning Product Laws

 

INFORM Cleaning for Health

 

CT Foundation of Environmentally Safe Schools

 

Best Cleaning Practices Guidance for Infection Control

 

All required information, including MSDS information, is available at each school in the Green Cleaning Manual located in the custodial room
 
 
The State of Connecticut is requiring that each local and regional Board of Education implement a Green Cleaning Program for all school buildings and facilities in its district. New Haven Public Schools is committed to the implementation of this law by providing the staff and, upon request, the parents and guardians of each child enrolled in each school with a written statement of the school district’s Green Cleaning Program as well as making it available on its web site annually. The policy will also be distributed to new staff hired during the school year and to parents or guardians of students transferring in during the school year.
 

  1. Green Cleaning Program means the procurement and proper use of environmentally preferable cleaning products as defined by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) for all state owned buildings, schools and facilities. DAS currently requires that environmentally preferable cleaning products be independently certified by one of two third party certified organizations: Green Seal or Eco Logo.
  2. By July 1, 2011 and thereafter no person shall use a cleaning product in a public school unless it meets the DAS standard.
  3. The types of cleaning products covered in this legislation include: general purpose, bathroom, and glass cleaners, floor strippers and finishes, hand cleaners and soaps. The preferred green cleaning products used by this school district are listed on attachment “A”.
  4. Disinfectants, disinfectant cleaners, sanitizers or antimicrobial products regulated by the federal insecticide, fungicide and rodenticide act are not covered by this law.
  5. The following statement will be part of this school districts’ program as stated in the new law:

 
“NO PARENT, GUARDIAN, TEACHER OR STAFF MEMBER MAY BRING INTO THE SCHOOL FACILITY ANY CONSUMER PRODUCT WHICH IS INTENDED TO CLEAN, DEODORIZE, SANITIZE OR DISINFECT”
 
The implementation of this program requires the support and cooperation of everyone including administrators, faculty, staff, parents, guardians and facilities staff. Any questions concerning the program can be directed to the Custodial Supervisor at: 203-691-3923