Philly District Sued Over Asbestos Contamination In School

Philly District Sued Over Asbestos Contamination In School

Introduction

A union representing Philadelphia school teachers has demanded the school district to address the widespread asbestos problems by monitoring and removing asbestos from school as it will harm the health of teachers as well as the students.

On January 20, the president of Philadelphia Federation Of Teachers, the AFL-CIO, and other union groups filed a lawsuit against the School District of Philadelphia (PSD) and its superintendent, William R. Hite, Jr. in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas.

The district consisting of 125,000 students and 13,000 employees had to recently shut down six schools due to the growing impact of asbestos in the school campuses. Hence, it resulted in the teacher's union filing a lawsuit against the district.

Schools that closed due to asbestos contamination included Laura H. Carnell School and the Alexander K. McClure School. Both the schools Carnell and McClure reopened on January 13 and January 15 respectively, but further investigation revealed that McClure still contains a high level of asbestos fibers, which are harmful to teachers and students resulting in the closure of the school within two days on January 17.

Union alleges that the district officials did not share the details and proceedings of the asbestos investigation reports. Hence, the outcome of the lawsuit will force the district officials to share the results and investigation process with the teacher's union. District officials have stated that they are reviewing the complaint by implying the law.