More Schools Go Green: Iowa Joins the Growing List of States Moving to Green Cleaning in Public Spaces

By Grace Bell

 

On April 23, 2010, Chet Culver, the governor of Iowa, signed legislation that requires the state’s public schools, institutions, agencies, and community colleges to follow “an environmentally preferable” cleaning program and policy. House File 823 specifies that, beginning July 12 of this year, the above state-managed institutions purchase only those cleaning products that meet the new green standards.

The first two states to pass green cleaning legislation for schools were New York in 2006 and Illinois in 2007. Two more states, Maine and Missouri, mandated green school guidelines in 2008. The movement continued to gain momentum in 2009, when four additional states passed cleaning green school bills. Those four—Conn., Hawaii, Maryland, and Nev.—have now been joined by Iowa, the first state to mandate green schools so far in 2010.