State Policy Showcase: Reducing Exposure to Lead in Schools and Child Care Centers’ Drinking Water

No level of lead in drinking water is safe, especially for growing kids. Alexandra Simon, Public Health Advocate with CoPIRG, and Cyndi Roper, Senior Policy Advocate with Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), will discuss policies in both Colorado and Michigan designed to help protect children from exposure to lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.

Alexandra will dive into Colorado’s 2022 “Clean Water In Schools And Child Care Centers” law, which requires some schools, child care centers, and family child care homes to test for lead in their drinking water and remediate if 5ppb or more is found. Cyndi will focus on Michigan’s landmark 2023 “Filter First” law. The Michigan law establishes that schools and child care facilities must install filters at drinking and cooking water outlets to proactively remove any lead contamination that may exist, and also test the water for lead after the filters have been installed. You’ll learn about the “nuts and bolts” of these policies, why these measures help protect children’s health, and what steps were taken to advocate for these protections. 

Following these case studies, we’ll open up the discussion for participants to ask questions, share insights, discuss barriers and roadblocks, find windows of opportunity and coalitions to build, as well as other strategies needed to successfully address lead exposure for children.