Out of a tragedy in a nearby community came a law that helps keep the 10,000 children in our school district safe.

“Jarod’s Law” is named after Jarod Bennett. On Dec. 19, 2003, the six-year-old was at a YMCA after-school program at an elementary school in Lebanon. Another student was wheeling a 290-pound cafeteria table across the floor when it fell over on Jarod and fractured his skull. He died soon after.

The law that was inspired by that terrible accident now helps ensure that all schools in Ohio, which were already very safe places, are even safer. It went into effect on Sept. 27 and mandates, in detail, inspections and procedures that cover every part of a school building, inside and outside.

Outside the schools, we make sure we are following district policies that were already in place regarding school bus idling time, and the proximity of loading and unloading areas to air intakes and doorways. There are regulations about when and how roofing and painting and sealing work can be done. There are specifications for playground equipment, in terms of the equipment, the ground surface, and the supervision.

Trash containers, bleachers, athletic facilities…they are all covered by the law. Each one has the potential for tragedy if not properly designed, constructed and maintained.

Moving inside, there are many more regulations. Reading through the law, one comes across the section about portable cafeteria tables, and other portable furniture items, that now must be inaccessible to students or secured to the wall or floor.

But it goes much further, covering water damage (it can lead to mold or weakened structures), lighting, and plumbing fixtures. It is very detailed – “drinking fountain streams must crest a minimum of one inch above the mouth guard.” There are specific sections that cover science, art, music, and industrial arts classrooms. There are also specific rules for locker rooms, restrooms, the nurse’s office, weight training rooms, and custodians’ closets.

Ever since I was teaching, and probably long before, many teachers have brought a bottle of hand lotion to school. In more recent years, small bottles of hand sanitizing fluid have proliferated. Now we must have at the school the official Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for such items. (An MSDS outlines the proper way to handle the product, and has information about storage, disposal, toxicity, first aid, what to do if it spills or leaks, etc.)

What we are doing in our district is to obtain the Material Safety Data Sheets for a selection of widely available products, so our employees know they can use them at school without having to go out and find those forms themselves.

Every employee of the Fairfield School District shares in the responsibility to keep our kids safe. But the brunt of making sure we are meeting all the requirements of Jarod’s Law falls on our custodians, our buildings and grounds staff, and our principals, who are responsible for their entire schools.

The safety of our students and our employees will always be paramount, as they go to school and to work every day.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Dec. 20, 2007