"More than 700 Illinois schools are within a quarter-mile of crop fields, yet state law doesn’t require pesticide applicators to notify them before spraying. Advocates say a new notification proposal would give educators and park staff time to move children indoors and reduce exposure."
"When the wind shifts and Abbie Frank smells chemicals in the air, she begins her two-minute drill: grab the children and their backpacks and head to the schoolhouse as quickly as possible.
Frank, the founder and executive director of Bluestem Hall Nature School in Urbana, Illinois, said pesticides are sprayed several times a year on the six farms surrounding her school. Often, the agrichemicals drift through the air, forcing her students inside and disrupting lessons, which can be particularly stressful for younger children.
“There’s been times where we’re caught in a cloud of chemicals overwhelming us, and we’re literally grabbing backpacks and running with the children,” Frank said, adding that there is no requirement that pesticide applicators give her school advance warning.
“We’re outside all the time. It’s not the rain, it’s not the snow that drives us in. It’s the chemicals.”"
Jennifer Bamberg reports for Investigate Midwest December 3, 2025.
Advertisement 
