Protective School Siting Legislation in Texas

Dear Representative,

We, the undersigned organizations, urge you to make the health of Texas children, teachers and administrators a priority. In Texas, there are no laws to prevent school sites from being built on or near sources of environmental pollution. Our goal is to pass legislation that will prevent schools and playgrounds from being sited on hazardous and toxic chemicals. We believe that tax dollars should be used responsibly to purchase uncontaminated property for the use of elementary, middle and high schools. Approximately 30 states have already adopted some form of school-siting laws to protect children and teachers.

Rhode Island Legal Services completed a report to the U.S. EPA of all state policies that regulate the siting of schools on or near sources of environmental pollution. The 50-state survey reveals a pressing need for the adoption of policies to prevent the siting of public schools where children may be exposed to unhealthy levels of hazardous substances or pollution. The report also found that Texas has no policies that require sponsors of new school projects to investigate or assess environmental hazards at potential school sites.1


Why would school districts purchase environmentally questionable land?

  • Due to declining school budgets, districts have sought cheap land to build new schools. The ability to attain cheaper industrial property may initially be appealing, but one that creates unnecessary and unfortunate opportunities for exposure to contamination and increased risk to human health.
  • Many urban areas and growing suburban communities face a shortfall of undeveloped land and a limited number of sites available for new school construction. School districts have found themselves turning to existing land they may not have otherwise considered because of limited options.

Why is this so important?

The Center for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) has been a leader in promoting safe school site selection policies across the United States. CHEJ outlines how children are especially vulnerable and should be protected from unnecessary exposure to chemicals2:

  • Children are more susceptible to exposure from chemicals than adults because organ systems are still developing, and children absorb, metabolize, detoxify and excrete poisons differently from adults.
  • Children eat, drink, breath and have more skin exposure per pound of body weight than an adult; therefore, they consume and absorb more toxins relative to adults.
  • Normal activities heighten children’s vulnerability to environmental threats. Their natural curiosity, tendency to explore and inclination to put their hands in their mouths opens them to health risks adults readily avoid.
  • Children's remaining life span provides more time for environmentally induced diseases to develop. Exposure to carcinogens during childhood is of particular concern since cancer can take decades to develop.
  • Public schools are community anchors. They house and nurture our growing children for 6-8 hours each weekday. They are meeting places for families, sporting events and extracurricular activities. They employ public workers and are funded by our tax dollars.

Does this really happen?

YES! Unfortunately there are numerous examples all over the United States, including Texas.

Federal Guidelines are underway

In December 2007, the Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 was signed into law by President Bush. This bill establishes a federal mandate for the EPA to issue voluntary school site selection guidelines that account for the special vulnerability of children to hazardous substances or pollution exposures in any case in which the potential for contamination at a potential school site exists3. This is a step in the right direction, but voluntary guidelines are not enough.

Protective School Siting Policy for Texas

National model school siting policy has been developed by the CHEJ in collaboration with school, health, and environmental organizations, engineers and health professionals. This model draws upon a site assessment process developed by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (CDTSC) to evaluate potential contamination at proposed school sites and cleanup criteria developed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC)4. This model policy can be tailored to Texas to include appropriate site assessment, evaluation and cleanup criteria as defined by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

We believe Texas can make a difference by putting the health of our children, teachers and administrators first. Please do not let our great state be left behind in our failure to act. We urge you to give great care and thought to Senate Bill SB 1231 and House Bill 1839.

Thank you,


Clean Schools Initiative

1Fischbach, Steven, Not In My Schoolyard: Avoiding Environmental Hazards at School Through Improved School Site Selection Policies (Rhode Island Legal Services, March 2006).

2Child Proofing Our Communities Campaign, CHEJ.

3Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007, Title IV, Subtitle E, Section 502, Model Guidelines for Siting of School Facilities.

4National Model School Siting Policy, CHEJ.