In grounds and buildings, providing for certified point-of-use filter required; establishing the Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund; and imposing duties on the Department of Environmental Protection.
SB 759 would amend the Pennsylvania Public School Code to require school entities to ensure that, by January 1, 2027, all drinking water outlets in school buildings are equipped with certified point-of-use filters. Schools would also have to replace unfiltered drinking fountains with bottle-filling stations or filtered fountains at a minimum ratio of one per 100 students and staff, maintain filter inspection and replacement schedules, and ensure new drinking water outlets meet lead-leaching limits certified under NSF/ANSI standards. The bill applies broadly to school districts, charter schools, cyber charter schools, regional charter schools, intermediate units, area career and technical schools, private schools, and nonpublic schools.
To help schools comply, the bill directs the Department of Environmental Protection to create a grant program, issue guidelines, publish an application, and award up to $10 million per fiscal year for three fiscal years. Grants could be used for filter installation and fountain replacement, with preference for older school buildings and buildings serving prekindergarten students. The bill also creates the Safe Schools Drinking Water Fund in the State Treasury to support these grants and requires DEP, in consultation with the Departments of Education and Health, to issue technical guidance and regulations and share data to target funding where lead risks are greatest.
The bill would add a new section to the Public School Code of 1949, imposing statewide drinking-water safety requirements on school entities and creating new administrative duties for DEP, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health. It would establish a continuing appropriations fund and a grant program to finance compliance, while also requiring public reporting, website postings, and compliance plans from school entities. The measure would directly affect school facilities, water infrastructure procurement, maintenance practices, and lead-risk disclosure obligations across Pennsylvania schools.
Based on the bill’s sponsors and the absence of recorded opposition in the provided materials, the bill appears to have been introduced with strong support from a bipartisan group of senators and a public-health-oriented purpose. The sponsor list includes members from both parties, suggesting an effort to frame the proposal as a school safety and lead-remediation measure rather than a partisan issue. No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment beyond the bill’s broad preventive-health framing.
The main points of potential contention are likely to be cost, implementation burden, and feasibility for school entities, especially those with older buildings or limited capital budgets. The bill requires universal filter coverage, replacement of fountains, ongoing maintenance, public posting of lead-related information, and compliance reporting, all of which could be administratively demanding. Another possible issue is the bill’s preference for older buildings and prekindergarten sites, which may raise questions about grant allocation and whether the $10 million annual cap is sufficient to meet statewide needs. The bill does include an exemption for schools that have already permanently eliminated elevated lead risk, which may reduce concerns for districts that have already invested in remediation.