Kansas School Inspections

1. Kansas School Inspections Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

2. What Local Health Departments in Kansas Need to Know K.S.A. 65-202– “shall upon the opening of the fall term of school, make or have made a sanitary inspection of each school building and grounds, and shall make or have made such additional inspections thereof as are necessary to protect the public health of students of the school.” (1885; Reviewed 1980) • The statute places the responsibly on the local health officer • It does not indicate what constitutes a sanitary inspection • Each health officer has the discretion to determine what specific sanitary issues to inspect • The statute requires inspections of K-12 public and private schools Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

3. Overview of the School Inspections Survey • Were you aware that there is a statute requiring local health officers to conduct sanitary inspections of each school annually (K.S.A. 65-202) • 77% Yes • 23% No • If a website was available for you to upload and print school inspection checklists and templates from other counties, how likely would you be to access this information? • 58% Very likely • 32% Somewhat likely • 10% Not at all likely Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

4. Overview of the School Inspections Survey • What do you think are the most significant barriers to local health departments/local organizations effectively conducting school inspections? (check all that apply) • Lack of training 83% • Not enough staff 73% • Lack of resources (not including funding) 72% • Not enough time 66% • No/limited funding 58% • Other 34% (including lack of school buy in, lack of enforcement authority) Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

5. Overview of the School Inspections Survey • Rate the level of importance by topic for resources • Chemical use storage and disposal was rated the most important - 80% • Acoustics was rated the least important – 41% Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

6. Rate the level of importance by topic for resources

7. Themes from the Survey • Other organizations already perform these inspections so why should we also do them? (10) • Need for school administration cooperation (5) • No enforcement authority if problems were presented (6) • Need training and funding in order to do the inspections(9) • Staffing and equipment needs are a problem (6) • Time involvement can vary by school size (4) • Need one standardized form for all health departments to use (3) • Opposition at the health department, school, or board of health (6) Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

8. KDHE School Inspections Resource Webpage http://www.kdheks.gov/olrh/school_inspections.htm

9. KDHE School Inspections Resource Webpage

10. KDHE School Inspections Resource Webpage Our vision is 'healthy Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments'. The state belongs to all of us - "Kansas Don't Spoil It"

11. KDHE School Inspections Resource Webpage

12. Discussion • Ideas for other resources that would be helpful? • Advice from those currently conducting inspections? • Other discussion? Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

13. Questions Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.

14. www.kdheks.gov Our Mission: To protect and improve the health and environment of all Kansans.