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

August 2025

Universal Free School Meal Policies and Participation in the US National School Meal Programs

This study aimed to examine the impact of federal- and state-level Universal Free School Meal (UFSM) policies and related policies on National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) participation rates during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This comparative effectiveness research study used a natural experiment created by the COVID-19 pandemic to analyze More

February 2025

More States and Sponsors Are Providing Grab-and-Go Meals to Children during Summer

In 2023, to respond to increased rates of child food insecurity during the summer Congress authorized states to opt in to allowing noncongregate, or “grab-and-go,” summer meal services for students in rural areas. In the summer of 2023, 46 states and DC opted in, and in the summer of 2024 all 50 states and DC More