USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Regional Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Centers and the IPM Institute released a strategic plan to implement IPM practices in schools.

The plan, School IPM 2015: A Strategic Plan for Integrated Pest Management in Schools in the United States, calls for a 70-percent reduction in pest complaints and pesticide use in schools. It also presents actions and a timeline for a coordinated effort to engage professionals including parents, teachers, custodians, food service staff, school administrators, pest management professionals, extension staff, regulators and architects.

For more information about the IPM in Schools program and to view the strategic plan, visit www.ipmcenters.org/pmsp/pdf/USschoolsPMSP.pdf.

The US EPA, Regional IPM Centers along with the IPM Institute of N.A., developed the plan with funding support from CSREES. The Regional IPM Centers have started IPM in Schools working groups to decide how to implement the plan regionally.

For more information on the PMSP, visit http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/ipm/schoolipm2015.htm