Why Schools Must Provide PPE for STEM Learning

For Science & STEM Educators, School Principals and School District Officials

As dedicated educators and leaders, our top priority is the safety of our students and staff. In the focused hands-on environments of K-12 science, STEM, and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is not merely a best practice or a recommendation – it is a legal requirement , and the responsibility for providing it rests firmly with the employer: the school district.  This cannot be interpreted in any other way. Period.

This clarification is critical because, legally, in the context of safety regulations, students in instructional spaces are considered “employees by extension” due to the employer-employee relationship that governs safety requirements. This means the same protective measures afforded to staff must be extended to all students engaged in activities requiring PPE.

The Legal Mandate for Employer-Provided PPE:

The requirement for employers to cover the cost of PPE is explicitly detailed in federal occupational and health safety regulations:

• OSHA 29 CFR § 1918.106 – Payment for Protective Equipment: This foundational OSHA ruling, finalized in 2008, clearly states that employers are responsible for paying for most types of PPE. While this specific regulation references longshoring, its principles are broadly applied across occupational safety standards where PPE is deemed necessary.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1450 (Laboratory Standard): This standard, directly applicable to school science and STEM laboratories, requires employers to ensure that appropriate PPE is available and used when handling hazardous chemicals. This includes, but is not limited to, safety goggles, safety glasses, and protective gloves.
• OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200 (Hazard Communication Standard): This regulation emphasizes the employer’s responsibility to communicate chemical hazards and ensure workers (and by extension, students in these environments) are protected, often through the use of PPE.

What Does This Mean for Our School Labs?

This means that if a lab activity or instructional task involves hazards that necessitate protection, such as but not limited to:

• Chemical splashes
• Flying projectiles or debris
• Heat or open flames
• Moving machinery parts
• Biological materials
• Sharp objects
• Liquids requiring protection
• Tools and raw materials

Then, the school district must provide appropriate, certified, and functional PPE for every educator, staff member, and student engaged in that activity. The PPE must be fitted properly to provide protections (in a variety of sizes S, M, L, XL) and there must be more PPE available than occupants of the learning space to account for loss, damage or visitors. This commonly includes:

• Safety goggles (for splash and impact protection) with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 D3 2020 certification
• Safety glasses (for impact protection, when appropriate and with side shields) bearing the certified ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 D3 stamp
• Protective gloves (e.g., nitrile gloves for chemical handling or biological dissections)
• Protective aprons (when there is a risk of splashes or spills to clothing)

It’s a common observation that schools rarely differentiate by supplying PPE only to staff and not students; however, the legal underpinning for providing it to students often stems from this “employee by extension” interpretation under federal safety mandates.  Students will receive the same PPE as the staff in the school when they are in proximity to or potentially exposed to situations that necessitate the use of appropriate safety gear listed above.

Beyond Science and STEM:

It is critical to remember that these PPE rules and regulations are not confined to just science and STEM classrooms. They apply to any instructional space where hazards are present that require personal protection. This includes:

• Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) where paints, solvents, glazes, or tools might necessitate gloves, eye protection, or aprons.
• Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs involving machinery, welding, construction, automotive repair, or other hands-on work with tools, heat, or materials that pose a risk.
• Agricultural Systems (Ag Systems) where pesticides, tools, machinery, and other materials require the use of PPE for safer handling, use and storage.
• Any other discipline where activities involve chemicals, liquids, glassware, heat, projectiles, moving parts, machinery, or equipment necessitating the use of personal protective equipment.

The Superintendent’s Personal Liability:

For superintendents, understanding and enforcing this requirement is not just about compliance; it’s about proactively mitigating significant risk. Failure to provide appropriate PPE opens the employer (the school district) to potential substantial liability and penalties for violations of Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) laws. In severe cases, where negligence can be proven in not providing a safer and secure working and learning environment, the superintendent can be held personally liable .

Ensuring access to and proper use of appropriate, employer-provided PPE is a non-negotiable aspect of maintaining a safer and legally compliant educational environment. It protects our students, our staff, and the integrity of our school district.

Final Thoughts

Now that we know legally that the employer (school district) is required to pay for and provide all necessary PPE for these programs operating in the school, what budget does this typically come from?  Some jurisdictions use the Facilities Department or Operational budgets to pay for the PPE needed in the schools as a line item under the ‘Safety Equipment’ heading.  Most programs are not required to cover the costs of fire extinguishers, fume hood inspections, eye wash station repairs and related safety and engineering control costs.  So including the PPE in these budgets seems to a good fit.  Some other jurisdictions attest that these are consumable costs that need to be borne by the individual departments (Science, CTE, VAPA…) and should increase their budget allocations accordingly to account for the increased costs of the mandated PPE used in these hands-on courses.  This is not favoritism, but the reality of additional mandated costs for offering safer science and STEM instructional spaces.

Regardless of which budget envelope the PPE is paid for, the school and school district are ultimately responsible for ensuring that it is on-site, in abundance, and is certified for use by the staff and students.  No additional service fees can be added for PPE – this is strictly forbidden under these legal safety standards as the employer must provide it to the employees (and students by extension).  Please ensure that your school has the necessary safety equipment, PPE, emergency response equipment, engineering controls and that the educators and administrators are trained at least annually on fundamental safety topics and have access to a current chemical hygiene plan and/or hazard communication standard. If you don’t recognize what these two legal safety documents are, please contact Safer STEM for a no-cost consultation of your existing safety program in your school district.

Stay safer.  Safety first, accidents last.

James Palcik, CHO #5092