HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 996        FILED ON: 1/15/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 587

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Aaron Vega, (BY REQUEST)

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act reducing public school nonionizing radiation and wireless exposures.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 996        FILED ON: 1/15/2019

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 587

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act reducing public school nonionizing radiation and wireless exposures.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Chapter 71 of Part I Title XII of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding a new section:-

SECTION 1D. WIRELESS AND NONIONIZING RADIATION EXPOSURES

Section 1D. Every public school providing computer access to students and staff shall, where possible, turn off wireless connectivity and hard-wire any connections to the Internet. If hard-wiring is not feasible and yet internet connectivity is necessary for staff, ideally a segregated area of the school shall be set aside for internet use by the staff and turned off when not in use. If access is necessary for student education, a segregated area is also best to control exposures and turn off wireless connectivity when not in use. Ideally, wireless use by staff shall occur after regular hours when students have left the school, until a hard-wired connection can be obtained.

Every public school shall have a policy to limit exposures to non-ionizing radiation stemming from wireless connectivity and from electricity. This policy shall insure that schools not only reduce or eliminate wireless exposures, but check the electrical and magnetic fields emitted by electricity use during a regular school day and provide for correction of high field exposures.

The policy and any standards or rules enforcing the policy shall be provided by the school committee or charter school board, and shall be subject to development and review by a local committee inclusive of and not exclusive of student guardians, parents, and teachers belonging to the school or district.

SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 69 of Part I Title XII of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place the following sentence:-

It is therefore the intent of this title to ensure that each public school classroom provides: (1) the conditions for all pupils to engage fully in learning as an inherently meaningful and enjoyable activity without threats to their sense of security or self-esteem; (2) a consistent commitment of resources sufficient to provide a high quality public education to every child; (3) a respectful process for attending to student academic needs and developing talents; (4) an effective mechanism for supporting positive school climates and teacher quality and professionalism; and (5) insuring the environmental health and safety of public school classrooms by allowing for policies and procedures designed to improve and monitor environmental health of public school buildings.