New York City Department of Education
Environmentally Sensitive Cleaning and Maintenance in New York City Public Schools
As of September 1, 2006, all schools in New York State were required by law to purchase and use cleaning products that minimize the potential impacts to human health and the environment. We examined whether the New York City Department of Education, which operates 1,236 schools and related facilities, complied with this law. We found that the Department was a year late in complying with the law, but had begun to comply when we visited a sample of facilities in the 2007-08 school year. However, the facilities cleaned by contractors were not always purchasing and using environmentally sensitive cleaning products, and the leased facilities we visited generally were not purchasing and using such products because none of the landlords had been informed about the new requirements. After our visits, the landlords were informed.
For a complete copy of Report 2007-N-21 click here.