Health and Safety in Schools

Schools have a responsibility to keep students safe. However, last year it was discovered that the state had failed to take adequate steps to ensure safe drinking water in Delaware public schools. A statewide investigation of school drinking water found that almost all samples tested positive for lead levels well above the legal health limits.

Lead can have drastic effects on children’ s health including brain and nervous system damage, slowed growth and development, and increased behavioral and learning problems. Furthermore, these effects can disproportionately impact students with disabilities and who come from low-income households.

School boards can help ensure that Delaware students have access to clean water. School boards are responsible for creating annual reports on important issues and improvements that need to be addressed in their districts. By elevating critical issues like the lead water crisis, school boards can spread public awareness, increase budgeting for care and maintenance of building infrastructure, and hold relevant state and federal departments accountable. Students deserve to be safe in their classrooms, and families deserve to be able to trust that their children will be cared for at school. We need school board members who will take immediate and effective action to protect students’ health.