State board revisits environmental health, safety requirements for K-12 schools 

The Washington State Board of Health (SBOH) is updating 60-year-old standards on minimum environmental health and safety requirements in schools.

SBOH Community Outreach Coordinator Hannah Haag said environmental health and safety standard requirements for Washington State kindergarten through grade 12 schools are primed for an update.

“In 2024, the (board) brought educators, health experts, and parents together to recommend modern standards,” said Haag in an email to The JOLT. 

The school environmental health and safety rule has existed since 1960 as Chapter 246-366 WAC (Washington Administrative Code): Primary and Secondary Schools. It was last updated in 1991.  

A fact sheet from the SBOH’s site points out that the state budget has prevented the board from implementing updated health and safety rules for schools since 2010.  

“Schools and local health jurisdictions remain subject to standards that are more than 60 years old. The outdated rules do not address modern environmental health concerns, such as air quality,” the fact sheet states. 

In 2025, the SBOH proposed three phases to update the rule, a phased approach that would provide schools and local health departments ample time to plan and keep costs low.  

This year, the Washington Legislature approved Phase 1 of the initiative, which focuses on schools creating plans to improve indoor air quality and prepare for extreme heat and cold.  

“To support schools, the State Department of Health is making templates for these plans and will give out radon test kits as supplies allow. The (board) started work on Phase 1 of the rule in July 2026 (en español) and plans to finish the following year,” Haag said. 

Phase 1 will lay the foundation for the Phase 2 and Phase 3 updates. Phase 2 includes school officials and local health jurisdictions, while Phase 3 adds new requirements, such as temperature ranges and specialized room standards. 

“Most rulemaking projects take 12-18 months to complete. We hope to complete this rule and have the Phase 1 recommendations in place by July 2027,” states the SBOH’s document.