In March 2016, EPA announced two grants to facilitate and assess the economics of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in schools. This funding will help reduce the unnecessary exposure of students, teachers, and staff to pests and pesticides and assess the economics associated with IPM implementation in schools. The two grants have been awarded to:

• Health Resources in Action to conduct an economic assessment of the implementation of school IPM. Currently, there is limited, primarily anecdotal information on the economics of school IPM. The lack of scientifically robust economic information creates uncertainty within school districts about the costs and benefits associated with establishing and sustaining IPM programs. This project aims to remove this uncertainty by providing an unbiased assessment of the economics of IPM programs in diverse school settings. The results of the analysis from this two-year project will be available in early 2018. 

• The National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) to utilize an intensive mentorship program between local health departments and underserved school districts to implement school IPM. Health equality and underserved populations are ongoing concerns in public health.  To address this public health inequity, this project's mentorship program, pairing school districts and local health departments, will allow for increased access to technical resources and great partnerships between the two entities. NEHA will also leverage their substantial network of environmental health professionals to bring IPM information to school districts nationwide. NEHA’s efforts will occur in 2016 and 2017. 

Learn more about integrated pest management in schools.

• Health Resources in Action - Keeping the Pests Out: The Economics of Integrated Pest Management in Schools (PDF)(1 pg, 204 K)
• National Environmental Health Association - NEHA Mentorship Program for Developing School IPM Capabilities (PDF)(1 pg, 213 K)