MN HF5355

Commissioners of health and education must revise the model plan by August 1, 2025 to require filtered bottle-filling stations (at least one per 75 occupants) and filtered faucets at schools, with annual water sampling and testing of filtered water to ensure lead concentration does not exceed five parts per billion.

Schools must shut off or render permanently inoperable any water outlets providing drinking water that are not filtered bottle-filling stations or filtered faucets by the end of the 2026-2027 school year.

Schools must immediately notify parents within 30 days if testing reveals lead at or above five parts per billion and must either remediate the lead or directly notify parents with Department of Health information on lead exposure health effects.

A clean drinking water account is established in the special revenue fund with an initial appropriation of $55,000,000 to assist school districts, charter schools, nonpublic schools, and licensed child care centers with acquisition, installation, and maintenance of filtered water systems and water testing costs.

Nonpublic schools (excluding home schools) must test for lead in drinking water, revise water management plans, and comply with filtered water system requirements by the same deadlines as public schools.