‘Wild, wild west’: New York’s lead reporting laws do not apply to private schools

Editor’s note: This week is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. This story is part of Central Current’s continued coverage of how lead poses a public health threat.

New York state has mandated its public schools periodically test water fountains and other outlets for a decade. That measure, some public health advocates said, made the state a leader in childhood lead poisoning prevention. 

However, that rule doesn’t apply to private schools, an enduring, 10-year-old blindspot in the state’s lead reporting laws, experts say.

The lack of testing means that it is up to private schools to disclose if their water is lead-safe. Parents, advocates say, often send their children to private school without knowing whether the school is checking for lead in drinking water. 

“Parents have a sense of security when they’re sending their kids off to school,” said Oceanna Fair, a member of the Families for Lead Freedom Now, an organization fighting lead poisoning locally. “So the last thing you expect to hear is that your children may possibly be drinking lead every time they go to the water fountain.”

None of the 33 private schools in Onondaga County that Central Current contacted are mandated to publicly report the results they found when they tested the school’s water for lead contamination. Representatives from six schools responded to reporters’ questions about lead safety, saying that their water did not have lead. Schools did not share their testing results with Central Current reporters for review.

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Local lead safety advocates say that laws need to account for all potential sources of contamination. A lack of information on lead safety at private schools continues to be a gap in the poisoning prevention strategies of federal, state, and local governments, they said.

“We wouldn’t build a playground on a toxic waste site, because obviously that wouldn’t be safe,” Fair said. “But we’re going to think kids in private schools would be different from kids in public schools. That is insane.”

Concerns about a lack of accounting on the issue at private schools come at a time when state regulators and environmental experts have demanded several county public schools remediate the presence of lead at water fountains and faucets. Advocates say this is yet another peg of an ongoing lead poisoning crisis in the county. About one in 10 children in the county show elevated blood lead levels, according to data from the county health department. 

Lead in water is one of several sources of lead contamination. The county, and specifically the city of Syracuse, have issues with an aging housing stock where lead paint and dust peels off walls, generating sources of contamination. Additionally, the city specifically has a large inventory of lead pipes that leach into the water delivered to the outlets of thousands of city homes and businesses. 

Public health officials across the board have said there is no safe level of exposure to lead, a neurotoxin that can cause “nervous system damage, learning disabilities, hearing problems and impaired blood cell formation and function in children.”  

New York state requires public schools to test water outlets every three years and enact remediation measures if outlets show more than 5 parts per billion of lead during sampling. 

While there are a slew of potential sources of lead poisoning in county homes and schools, Fair said that the lack of testing at private schools is not a common concern she has heard during her conversations with families affected by lead poisoning. That, however, speaks to how furtive the issue is, she added.

The state encourages private schools to voluntarily test their outlets that dispense water used for drinking or cooking for lead, said Erin Clary, a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health. 

“They are advised that outlets that test above 5 ppb should be taken out of service and remediated to protect the health of the school community,” Clary said. 

Melanie Drotar, a spokesperson for the County Health Department, said the county complies with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules regarding testing. The county will continue to comply with anticipated EPA guidance changes that could expand testing requirements in the future, she added. The lack of testing data, Drotar told Central Current in an email, does not change how the department conducts lead poisoning prevention work. 

“Our responsibility is county‑wide, and regardless of whether a child attends a public or private school, our team provides testing when needed, ongoing education, and comprehensive case management for any child with an elevated blood lead level,” Drotar said. 

As much as the testing landscape at private schools is a mystery, some researchers say it is likely lead will be present at a high number of water outlets. The state, therefore, should move toward solutions that go beyond testing and into direct filtration that addresses lead issues at the source, researchers said.

“We assume private schools are going to basically have the same macro results: they’re going to find a lot of lead,” said David Masur, a senior advocate at Environment America Research & Policy Center, the group which co-authored the study on lead in water at public schools with the New York Public Interest Research Group and the Frontier Group.

‘Wild, wild West’

More than one in four public schools in Onondaga County — all in the suburbs— have reported having at least one drinking-water outlet with elevated lead levels, according to a recently released study. The state of private schools however, remains a partial mystery, said Masur. 

“I think it’s like a wild, wild West,” Masur said. 

Jowonio is one of the few private schools in Onondaga County that responded to Central Current’s request for comment, saying that the school conducted adequate testing that showed the absence of lead in water. 

A representative for Jowonio said the onus to ensure safety for students is on the schools themselves.

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“I think that it’s incumbent upon every school to prioritize the safety of their students in as many ways as possible, and this is one way in which we were able to do that,” said Megan Wagner-Flynn, the director of fund development and communications at Jowonio. 

Other schools, including Baldwinsville Christian Academy, Children’s Beginnings in Syracuse, Syracuse Hebrew Day School and Childtime locations in Cicero and Baldwinsville responded to interview requests. 

Since Syracuse Hebrew Day School operates inside the Jewish Community Center of Syracuse in Dewitt, they directed all lead in water-related queries to a JCC representative. 

“We do not have a lead problem with our water here. That is all,” said Erin Hart, the assistant director at JCC, when contacted by a reporter with follow-up questions regarding potential testing of water outlets for lead. 

Despite its school building being built in 1966, Jowonio hired a company in August 2025 to survey every faucet or fountain dispensing drinking water out of “an abundance of caution”, Wagner-Flynn said. Jowonio is not located on a lead based service line either. According to the state’s lead service line inventory map, the public side service line is copper-based.

“We were not required to do so, but we chose to do so just to be certain, and we luckily are not affected with lead in our water here at all, which is helpful because obviously we have many many young people in our building,” she said. 

For any new building acquisitions or facility renovations, the water is tested for lead using a third-party, licensed hygienist, said a Learning Care spokesperson representing the Childtime locations in Liverpool and Baldwinsville. 

“Existing locations are tested for cause,” the spokesperson added. “Should any remediation be necessary, we will alert families appropriately and discontinue usage of that devise(s) until remediation is complete, and retesting within limits is attained.”

Frank Palmisano, the administrator at Baldwinsville Christian Academy, told Central Current that the faucets at his school were tested in the past. However, being relatively new in his role, he was unable to provide specifics on results.

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“I’m still learning what’s been done but as soon as any federal regulations come down to me, those will be followed immediately,” Palmisano said. 

A representative for Children’s Beginnings in Syracuse said that the school has a corporate owner, KinderCare which requires them to comply and “adhere to all licensing guidelines, and depending on… their water testing requirements.”

When a reporter asked if the compliance includes lead safety, a representative confirmed that testing for lead is part of the licensing requirements the company adheres to. She then referred further questions to the company’s public relations team. Central Current has not heard from them since. 

Leaving the onus on the private schools to test their outlets and conduct subsequent remediation is not a practical solution, researchers say. Blair Horner, a senior advisor and legislative director at NYPIRG, says the state needs to go beyond testing. 

Experts estimate, as a “back of the envelope” projection, that $100 million will be required to install filtration systems in schools statewide.

“It would be a bit over $100 million in one year, but when you’re done, you’re done,” Horner said. “Then, the only cost after that will be the replacement filters.”

Moving toward filtration, Masur said, would once again put New York on the map as a leader in lead poisoning prevention. That title belongs to Michigan now, Masur said, noting that the state is the “gold standard” on lead poisoning prevention in schools.

“[The gold standard] requires moving away from testing, which we strongly support, and going towards prevention,” Masur said.

Impending legislation

A new bill in the state legislature may provide a solution to the problem by ensuring filtration at outlets in schools regardless of whether the school is public or private. 

The bill, if voted on by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, will mandate schools statewide to test outlets and set up filtered drinking water stations — irrespective of whether they are connected to a public service line deemed to have lead. Schools must install and maintain filtered drinking water stations and faucets to reduce students’ exposure to lead and other particulates in drinking water. 

Schools should have at least one filtered bottle-filling station for every 100 people, including visitors, according to the bill’s text. These stations and filtered faucets have to meet NSF/ANSI standards for lead reduction and particulate removal — the benchmarks established for water testing worldwide. An established maintenance schedule must be in place to replace filters. 

Horner’s estimate of $100 million would be fully reimbursable, according to the bill. The state would cover the cost of installation and maintenance through funds appropriated for clean-water infrastructure projects. 

If the bill goes into effect, these filtered bottle-filling stations or filtered faucets must be installed within 60 days of finding lead contamination. Schools have to continue water testing and provide safe, free drinking water until the required filters are installed and follow-up tests meet state standards.

Within a year of the law taking effect, school districts have to submit management plans to the state Department of Health, identifying drinking water outlets, specifying which will receive filters or be shut off, and establish filter-replacement schedules. The filtered stations and faucets would have to be installed before the 2027-28 school year and disable outlets that dispense water unfit for consumption. Districts have to update and resubmit plans at least every five years and certify compliance annually.

“The legislation we’re fighting for would loop in private schools, just leapfrog the testing… and go right to protecting kids,” Masur said. 

Preventative filtration also addresses another issue with the current system of water testing and subsequent remediation at public schools: recurring contamination. Horner said that some schools tend to choose a cost-effective remediation option that does not fully abate the presence of lead.

“You remediate and then two or three years later you test again and it’s still a problem,” Horner said. 

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There is also federal guidance from the EPA that could change the mandates on water testing for lead in schools. The agency has proposed changes to the existing Lead and Copper Rule, aiming to expand testing expectations to public and private schools as well as other childcare facilities. 

The rule would make schools and daycares, public or private, eligible for testing if they are part of a public water system — such as the Onondaga County Water Authority or other municipal water services. Private schools that privately source their water are considered their own public water system and must report testing results, an EPA spokesperson told Central Current.

The rule, however, does not require testing at every individual outlet and it is expected to take effect until November 2027. 

Lead in school water has plagued other cities and states, including Washington state where lawmakers fought for five years to institute lead testing and corrective measures in schools. 

State Rep. Gerry Pollett authored a state law that mandated public schools to take corrective actions. However, private schools lobbied hard against being included in the legislation, Pollett said. 

Since private schools are comparatively more expensive than public schools, parents often do not assume that the buildings will have a problem, Pollett told Central Current. Pollett is a professor at the University of Washington’s School of Public Health.

“I’ve also found that parents wrongly assume that someone was testing for lead in the private schools, and they [are] like, ‘oh, surely they did [lead testing the faucets] before they opened the building or something,’” Pollett said. “Well, heck, no.”