Published: January 2019

ID #: CAS048

Publisher: Healthy Eating Research

Authors: Cradock AL, Poole MK, Vollmer LY, Barrett JL, Flax CN, Hecht CA

See more related research

Share


This Brief summarizes select characteristics of state-level policies and programs to test for lead in school drinking water. It is based on a study from researchers at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and the University of California Nutrition Policy Institute. The full results of the study, study methods, and state profiles are available through Harvard. Researchers found that many students in the U.S. attend public schools in states where not all taps are tested for lead. Currently, there is no uniformity in states’ approaches to create and oversee programs to test for elevated lead in school drinking water. In states where water was testing and data were publicly available, nearly half of the schools identified one or more water source with elevated levels of lead. Ongoing monitoring and standardized practices for testing water are needed, and financial and technical assistance could help support more states in adopting recommended programs and practices to limit lead exposure in school drinking water.

Related Research

January 2018

Early Adopters: Current Practices and Preliminary Findings in States Adopting School-Based Water Quality Testing Programs

The goals of this project are: 1) to provide a descriptive assessment of the current methodologies used in state-based school water quality testing programs compared to recommended standard surveillance elements; and 2) to summarize water lead content data derived from state testing programs and present and evaluate data by school social and demographic characteristics. First More

September 2023

Screening for Beverage Consumption in Early Childhood using Electronic Health Records

Establishing healthy beverage patterns during early childhood (ages 0 to 5 years) is important for promoting healthy growth and development in childhood and reducing risk of chronic diseases as an adult. Health care providers play an essential role in identifying and addressing unhealthy beverage consumption patterns in young children and helping families develop healthy beverage More

June 2023

Understanding Barriers and Facilitators of Universal Free School Meals in NYS

When waivers for Universal Free School Meals (UFSM) ended in 2022, approximately 726,000 students lost access to free meals in New York (NY). This study examines the impact of maintaining (or de-implementing) Universal Free School Meals in NY, especially for Black and Hispanic/Latino families who may be disproportionately impacted by pre-existing inequities. This study will More