Regulatory Agencies and the Art Classroom

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Last Updated: Thursday, 19 June 2014 19:43

Depending on your perspective and particular interest, the concept of “safety in the classroom” is either defined with crystal clarity or is as vague as cloud computing. The concept we will delve into here is that of safety in the art classroom from the perspective of the products used in the classroom, your safety and the safety of your students.

Product Safety

In previous newsletters, we have established that the agency that regulates art materials is the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC). The section of federal law that currently impacts art materials is the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA); specifically the Labeling of Hazardous Art Materials Act (LHAMA) of 1988 (Sec. 23 Labeling of Art Materials [15 U.S.C. §1277]). The adoption of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 4040, a.k.a. CPSIA) in 2008 affected many products specifically marketed and used by children ages 12 and under. It did not affect regulations governing art materials. We write, using italics and boldface font, the word “currently” knowing that laws may change. As a leading manufacturer of art materials, we will stay abreast of any changes to labeling and marketing regulations and pass them along to you.

Teacher Safety

State and local government workers are excluded from Federal coverage under the OSH Act of 1970. Teachers, as well as state and local government employees, can be protected under state workplace safety programs. “Can” means the act of providing state health and safety programs is voluntary. States may choose to adopt workplace safety plans based on OSHA standards and regulations or they may draft their own standards. States may choose to have their plans “approved” by the Dept. of Labor. Approved plans are eligible to receive federal funding and the enforcement of these plans fall under OSHA oversight.

Twenty-seven states and territories operate under approved plans – the current list can be viewed by visiting the following link: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/osp/states.html

Many states without approved safety and health programs do provide coverage to public employees, to varying degrees. Ohio, for example, implements public employee safety under the section 4167 of the Ohio Administrative Code (Public Employment Risk Reduction Program – PERRP), which is administered by the state Bureau of Worker’s Compensation. For other non-approved states – please consult your state labor agency for the safety program that applies to you.

Student Safety

For the countless programs addressing bullying, gang violence, nutrition, and drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, there are very few that specifically address the issue of safety in the art classroom (there are no federal programs administered by the Depts. of Education, Health and Human Services or Labor).

Art classroom safety usually falls under the concept of “home rule” and to local depts. of health. Home rule is the practice of encouraging local control over municipal affairs through the adoption of county, city or township laws and programs. Administration of said programs usually falls to the most local authority agency, which is usually your local department of health – be it city, county or state.

It is interesting to note the passage and repeal of “Jarod’s Law” in Ohio (signed into law 2005, repealed in 2009). This law represented one of the more comprehensive state-wide attempts to define student safety on school property – interior and exterior facilities. County health officials used to operate by a 10 page booklet and primarily focus on sanitary issues. After the law’s passage, officials were to inspect for CPSC recalled products, storage procedures for harmful chemicals, the stability of cabinets, bookshelves and bleachers, etc. The cost, time and minute details needed to implement the law eventually lead to the repeal. At a minimum, Jarod’s Law changed the mindset of administrators towards school safety.

Best Practices

With no clear cut policies dictating classroom safety we can only suggest the following as a “best practices” approach.

Trying to be as proactive with inspection officials, with the creation of a classroom policies manual, is the best advice we can give.

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