All pesticides used by school districts must be
registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the
department, with the exception of those pesticides that have been exempted from
registration by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act
(FIFRA), Section 25(b). All pesticides used by school districts must also bear
a label as required by FIFRA and Chapter
76 of the Texas
Agriculture Code. Pesticides intended and labeled for use on humans are exempt
from this section. Pesticide use must also meet the following
requirements:
(1) Pest control signs
shall be posted at least 48 hours prior to a pesticide application inside
school district buildings, including residential properties, as provided for
under §
7.148 of this chapter (relating to
Responsibilities of Unlicensed Persons for Posting and Notification).
(2) For outdoor applications made on school
district grounds, including residential properties, the treated area must be
identified at all entry points with a sign, or must be secured using a locking
device, a fence or other practical barrier such as commercially available
barrier caution tape, or periodically monitored to keep students out of the
treated area until the allowed reentry time.
(3) Pesticides used on school district
property shall be mixed outside of student occupied areas of buildings and
grounds.
(4) The use of
non-pesticide control measures, non-pesticide monitoring tools and mechanical
devices, such as glue boards and traps as permitted in accordance with Division
7 of this subchapter (relating to Integrated Pest Management Program for School
Districts), are exempt from posting requirements. The use of non-pesticide
tools and devices by unlicensed school district personnel, for monitoring
purposes, shall be permitted. Monitoring by unlicensed school district
personnel shall be done only as directed, under the supervision of the IPM
Coordinator.
(5) Pesticide
applications shall not be made to outdoor school grounds if such an application
will expose students to physical drift of pesticide spray particles. Reasonable
preventive measures shall be taken to avoid the potential of drift to
occur.
(6) School districts are
allowed to apply the following pesticides to control pests, rodents, insects
and weeds at school buildings, grounds, or other facilities in accordance with
the approval for use and restrictions listed for each category:
(A) Green Category Pesticides.
(i) Definition: A pesticide will be
designated as a Green Category pesticide if it meets the following criteria:
(I) it contains a CAUTION signal word on the
product label, unless no signal word is required to appear on the product label
as determined by EPA; and
(II) it
consists of the active ingredient boric acid; disodium octoborate tetrahydrate
or related boron compounds; silica gel; diatomaceous earth; or belongs to the
class of pesticides that are insect growth regulators; microbe-based
insecticides; botanical insecticides containing no more than 5% synergist (and
does not include synthetic pyrethroids); biological (living) control agents;
pesticidal soaps; natural or synthetic horticultural oils; or insect and rodent
baits in tamper-resistant containers; or for crack-and-crevice use
only;
(ii) Approval for
Use: Green Category pesticides do not require prior written approval. These
pesticides may be applied at the licensee's discretion under the guidelines of
the school district IPM program.
(iii) Restrictions:
(I) Green Category pesticides may be applied
indoors if students are not present and are not expected to be present in the
room or treated area at the time of application. Reentry into the treated area
is permitted as soon as the application is complete, the pesticide spray has
dried, or the reentry interval specified on the pesticide label has expired,
whichever interval is longer.
(II)
Green Category pesticides may be applied outdoors if students are not present
within ten (10) feet of the application site at the time of treatment. Students
are allowed reentry into the treated area as soon as the application is
complete, the pesticide spray has dried or the reentry interval specified on
the pesticide label has expired, whichever interval is
longer.
(B)
Yellow Category Pesticides.
(i) Definition: A
pesticide will be designated as a Yellow Category pesticide if it meets the
following criteria:
(I) it contains a CAUTION
signal word on the product label, unless no signal word is required to appear
on the product label as determined by EPA; and
(II) it does not meet the criteria to be
designated as a Green Category pesticide under subparagraph (A)(i) of this
paragraph.
(ii) Approval
for Use: Yellow Category pesticides require written approval from the certified
applicator prior to their use. Yellow Category pesticide approvals shall have a
duration of no longer than six (6) months or six (6) applications per site,
whichever occurs first.
(iii)
Restrictions:
(I) Yellow Category pesticides
may be applied indoors if students are not present or not expected to be
present in the room or treated area within the next four (4) hours following
the application, or until the reentry interval specified on the pesticide label
has expired, whichever interval is longer.
(II) Yellow Category pesticides may be
applied outdoors if students are not present or not expected to be present
within ten (10) feet of application site and the area is secured and reentry is
in accordance with this section for no less than four (4) hours, or until the
reentry interval specified on the pesticide label has expired, whichever
interval is longer.
(III) The
treated area must be clearly posted at all entry points with a sign, or secured
using a locking device, a fence or other practical barrier such as commercially
available barrier caution tape, or periodically monitored to keep students out
of the treated area until the allowed reentry
time.
(C) Red
Category Pesticides.
(i) Definition: A
pesticide will be designated as a Red Category Pesticide if it meets the
following criteria:
(I) it contains a WARNING
or DANGER signal word on the product label; and
(II) it contains an active ingredient that
has been designated as a restricted use pesticide, a state-limited-use
pesticide or a regulated herbicide; and it does not meet the criteria to be
designated as a Green Category pesticide under subparagraph (A)(i) of this
paragraph, or a Yellow Category pesticide under subparagraph (B)(i) of this
paragraph.
(ii) Approval
for Use: Prior to the application, licensees must provide written justification
to the IPM Coordinator for the use of the Red Category pesticide and must
obtain signed approval for the application from the IPM Coordinator. Red
Category pesticide approvals shall have a duration of no longer than three (3)
months or three (3) applications per site, whichever occurs first.
(iii) Restrictions.
(I) Red Category pesticides may be applied
indoors if students are not present and are not expected to be present in the
room or treated area within eight (8) hours following the application, or until
the reentry interval specified on the pesticide label has expired, whichever
interval is longer.
(II) Red
Category pesticides may be applied outdoors if students are not present within
twenty-five (25) feet of the application site, the area is secured in
accordance with this section, and reentry by students is prohibited for no less
than eight (8) hours, or until the reentry interval specified on the pesticide
label has expired, whichever interval is longer.
(III) The treated area must be clearly posted
at all entry points with a sign, or secured using a locking device, a fence or
other practical barrier such as commercially available barrier caution tape, or
periodically monitored to keep students out of the treated area until the
allowed reentry time.
Notes
4
Tex. Admin. Code §
7.204
Adopted
by
Texas
Register, Volume 40, Number 51, December 18, 2015, TexReg
9118, eff. 12/21/2015; Amended by
Texas
Register, Volume 48, Number 02, January 13, 2023, TexReg
0133, eff.
1/16/2023