Schools Don't Currently Have Protocol For Lead Contamination

An East Chicago elementary school next to a lead contamination site has relocated to a former middle school across the city. It’s a safety measure school officials say they feel is necessary. Schools don’t currently have a set protocol for handling a lead contamination crisis.

Indiana is a member of the National Association of State Boards of Education. That group says they can no longer look at lead in schools as isolated incidents.

So this fall they will craft policy protocols for all state education agencies for how to deal with lead contamination. Director Kristen Amundson says that idea came after Flint’s lead crisis —

“but it was very very quickly supported by board members across the country who said you know that’s a problem in my state too.” Said Amundson.

Indiana State Board of Education spokesman Brian Murphy says he appreciates the national group looking into the issue. Still, he says, the state was able to quickly move East Chicago students and get the district disaster relief funding using any national protocol.