Legislators in Harrisburg are following Philadelphia's lead on lead with a new bill that would provide funds to see old drinking fountains at schools throughout the state removed and replaced with lead-filtering water stations by 2025
Last week, State Reps. Roni Green and Tarik Khan, both D-Phila., and other state representatives announced a bipartisan House bill that attempts to address lead contamination in drinking water in Pennsylvania schools.
In announcing a plan to introduce this bill, Green pointed out that this legislation is similar to a bill passed last year by the Philadelphia City Council that was signed into law.
“This legislation corrects a longstanding problem within our schools across the commonwealth,” Green said in a statement. “Children have a right to be in a safe environment, have clean drinking water, and maximize their learning journey free from harm and hazardous particles. It’s unacceptable to still have children being exposed to lead while in school. Our bill ensures that all Pennsylvania children’s rights are respected and that our children can be safe from lead exposure in school.”
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In a statement from Kahn and Green's offices, the lawmakers said that this legislation would require the replacement of old drinking fountains with lead-filtering water stations by 2025 and would direct funding to help school districts achieve this goal.
These legislators have been joined by a bi-partisan group of state reps., that include Abby Major, R-Armstrong/Westmoreland; Jim Haddock, D-Lackawanna/Luzerne; Jason Ortitay, R-Allegheny/Washington; and Joe Hogan, R-Bucks as co-sponsors of the bill.
“We know the devastating toll that lead exposure can cause in young children. And we know that any consumption of lead in children is unsafe. As a nurse practitioner, by the time my two-year-old patients are coming for their annual checkup, I’m already checking their lead level for a second time,” Khan said. “No kid should be exposed to toxic lead while in school. Our bipartisan legislation addresses this problem head-on and in a responsible way.”
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Lawmakers didn't say just how much finding might be directed through this legislation, but they noted that the bill is a companion to a bipartisan Senate Bill, SB 986.
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