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Lead testing in school drinking water, state by state

There is no national database of lead in school drinking water. Every US jurisdiction decides for itself whether to test, what level to act on, and whether anyone outside the building ever learns the result. This is a survey of all 51 of them โ€” the 50 states and the District of Columbia โ€” checked one at a time, plus the 7 states whose published results we hold row by row.

Landscape last re-verified ยท next scheduled re-verification Q4 2026. Every row carries its own verification date, and closing the gaps we publish below is the first job of each pass.

What the survey found

46 of 51 jurisdictions publish at least some school lead testing results, up from 26 in the 2021 baseline the National Association of State Boards of Education recorded; 29 of the 51 entries changed against it in some way.

Another 5 publish nothing we could find โ€” 4 of them confirmed at source (Georgia, Illinois, North Dakota and South Dakota), and 1 resting on secondary reporting we have not confirmed at source (Connecticut). We publish those two groups as two groups, because a claim that a jurisdiction publishes nothing is a claim about absence, and a search that found nothing is not evidence of one.

Publishing is not a quality bar. Of the 46 that publish, only 8 cover essentially every school in the jurisdiction, and 7 are not yet rated for breadth by this survey โ€” that last gap is in our research, not in their disclosure. A yes-or-no column would file all 46 of them identically, which is why there is no such column anywhere on this page.

40 of the 51 rows are confirmed against the jurisdictionโ€™s own pages or data platform; the other 11 rest on a credible third-party report we have not yet confirmed, and are labelled as such wherever they appear. How we decided all of this.

Transparency tier, by jurisdiction

A reader collapses a 51-row table to one verdict per jurisdiction whether we offer one or not. The tier below is us doing that collapse by a published rule, instead of leaving it to be done badly from a yes-or-no column. It is never shown without the coverage, vintage and evidence it was derived from.

School drinking-water lead-testing transparency tier for each of the 50 states and the District of ColumbiaAlabama โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: 2020-2025 grant round โ€” currency not established by the evidence we hold.Alaska โ€” Publishes for very few schools. Data vintage: Fairbanks sampling completed 2022-05-21; DEED does not date the list and the programme's currency is not established โ€” currency not established by the evidence we hold.Arizona โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: 2017 one-time screening; ADEQโ€™s results page last revised 2026-02-25 โ€” the programme that produced it has ended.Arkansas โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.California โ€” Published for all schools, testing ended. Data vintage: 2018-2019 mandate; program CLOSED 2019-07-01 โ€” the programme that produced it has ended.Colorado โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Connecticut โ€” Publishes nothing (not confirmed at source). Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Delaware โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.District of Columbia โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: annual โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Florida โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Georgia โ€” Publishes nothing (confirmed at source). Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Hawaii โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Idaho โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Illinois โ€” Publishes nothing (confirmed at source). Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Indiana โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Iowa โ€” Publishes for very few schools. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Kansas โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Kentucky โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: Sampling 2023-03-31 to 2026-06-02; dashboard states results are posted as they become available โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Louisiana โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: WIIN grant period โ€” currency not established by the evidence we hold.Maine โ€” Published for all schools, testing ended. Data vintage: 2021-2023 cycle, closed โ€” the programme that produced it has ended.Maryland โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Massachusetts โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Michigan โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Minnesota โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Mississippi โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Missouri โ€” Publishes for very few schools. Data vintage: MSSD reports received by DESE 2024-09 to 2025-11; testing is annual and ongoing โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Montana โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Nebraska โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Nevada โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.New Hampshire โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: dashboard launched Jan 2026 โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.New Jersey โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.New Mexico โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.New York โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.North Carolina โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.North Dakota โ€” Publishes nothing (confirmed at source). Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Ohio โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Oklahoma โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Oregon โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: 2016 only โ€” state flags it as outdated โ€” the state itself flags the published data as outdated.Pennsylvania โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Rhode Island โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.South Carolina โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.South Dakota โ€” Publishes nothing (confirmed at source). Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Tennessee โ€” Publishes for all schools, still testing. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Texas โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Utah โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Vermont โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Virginia โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added to.Washington โ€” Publishes results, breadth not yet rated. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.West Virginia โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Wisconsin โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.Wyoming โ€” Publishes for some schools. Data vintage: currency not established by the evidence we hold.
  • Publishes for all schools, still testing (6)
  • Published for all schools, testing ended (2)
  • Publishes for all schools, currency unknown (0)
  • Publishes for some schools (28)
  • Publishes for very few schools (3)
  • Publishes results, breadth not yet rated (7)
  • Publishes nothing (confirmed at source) (4)
  • Publishes nothing (not confirmed at source) (1)
  • Whether it publishes is unresolved (0)
Fill colour is the jurisdictionโ€™s transparency tier, assigned by a published rubric rather than by whether it answers โ€œdo you publish resultsโ€. Every jurisdictionโ€™s tier and data vintage are also written into the mapโ€™s text, so nothing here depends on being able to tell the colours apart.

The 51-jurisdiction scorecard

Every jurisdiction, with the four facts that qualify its publishing status and the verified note it was rated from. Select a jurisdiction for its action level, what changed since 2021, the source we checked, and โ€” for the 7 states we hold row-level data for โ€” the statistics.

How openly each US jurisdiction reports lead testing in school drinking water, for all 51 jurisdictions โ€” the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Sortable by jurisdiction and by transparency tier only: states are never ranked here on the share of results above an action level, because those action levels range from 1 ppb to 20 ppb and such a ranking would measure the threshold rather than the water. Each row opens onto the verified research note it was rated from, published verbatim โ€” any figure quoted inside a note is the sourceโ€™s own number as we recorded it, never a rate we computed.
CoverageData vintageEvidence
AlabamaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. ADEM completed EPA-funded VOLUNTARY testing: over 5,000 samples analysed at over 1,100 schools and childcare facilities, in a grant round begun 2020 that expanded an earlier 2017-2019 programme. Results reported in state and local press November 2025. Program page live (HTTP 200); exact results surface not yet confirmed at source.
2020-2025 grant round โ€” currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
AlaskaPublishes for very few schoolsNegligible โ€” so few schools that the disclosure tells a parent almost nothing
Verified research note
CORRECTED 2026-08-15, verified at source: Alaska publishes, barely. The negative rested on EPA's 'coming soon' marker alone. EPA's index names the Department of Education & Early Development -- NOT DEC, which is where a drinking-water programme would be looked for and where there is nothing -- and DEED's Facilities Publications page carries a section headed 'Lead Water Test Results' listing 'school districts that have participated in the voluntary program': Fairbanks, Iditarod Area, Dillingham. It is inside a collapsed accordion, invisible to a page-text fetch, which is plausibly why the earlier pass missed it. VERIFIED THE RESULTS ARE REAL, not just the index: Fairbanks North Star Borough SD publishes per-school summaries for Hunter Elementary and Salcha Elementary from sampling completed 2022-05-21 with DEC -- 104 samples at Hunter, 0 at or above 15 ppb, one tap at 14 ppb named with its remediation. Iditarod Area SD publishes 'TOTKS Lead Test Results' (one school). โš ๏ธ Dillingham's link is a Google Doc that returns 'Can't access item' to the public, so one of the three districts DEED points to publishes nothing a parent can open. NEGLIGIBLE is the grade on primary evidence: three districts, and 3 schools whose results are actually readable, against Alaska's ~500 public schools -- thinner than Iowa, which is the rubric's own example. DEED HOSTS NO RESULTS ITSELF; it is an index pointing at district-hosted documents, which is why dataTier is T3 (a district PDF and a district HTML summary) rather than T2 or T4. VINTAGE LEFT unknown, not guessed: the only dated evidence is Fairbanks 2022, DEED does not date its list, and whether the voluntary programme still runs was not established. Coverage is negligible either way, so the tier does not turn on it.
Fairbanks sampling completed 2022-05-21; DEED does not date the list and the programme's currency is not established โ€” currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-15
ArizonaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
VERIFIED AT SOURCE 2026-08-15 in a browser (azdeq.gov WAF-blocks automated fetches; the ADEQ results page renders fine in a real session). ADEQ publishes per-school screening results at azdeq.gov/public-schools-lead-screening-testing-data, browsable district-by-district and stamped "Revised On: Feb. 25th, 2026". The azdhs.gov lead-poisoning URL previously recorded here does NOT carry results -- confirmed -- so it was the wrong surface. COVERAGE IS partial, NOT comprehensive, on ADEQ's own wording: the initial scope targeted "public school districts targeted for the highest probability of having an issue and with student populations with the youngest kids", then "rapidly expanded to encompass screening for all public school districts statewide, thanks to overwhelming VOLUNTARY partner support". Statewide reach across DISTRICTS, voluntary participation, 16,125 samples from 14,782 fixtures at 1,427 schools in 180 districts -- which is a voluntary programme, the rubric's own definition of partial, and not "essentially every school". A 2017 six-month exercise; vintage stays closed. HISTORY: this row was graded negligible on secondary evidence until 2026-08-15. Two Arizona water professionals disputed that publicly on r/Water and were right that it was too harsh -- but "every single school", as one put it, overstates it in the other direction. partial is the defensible grade and it is now primary. STILL UNCONFIRMED: dataTier stays T3. The district pages drill down to per-school results, but the leaf pages returned Access Denied, so whether a school's result is a PDF (T3) or an HTML table (T2) was not established.
2017 one-time screening; ADEQโ€™s results page last revised 2026-02-25 โ€” the programme that produced it has endedconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-15
ArkansasPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. Run through the Dept of Education (DESE) rather than an environmental agency. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
CaliforniaPublished for all schools, testing endedProgramme ended or closed โ€” data frozen at 2018-2019 mandate; program CLOSED 2019-07-01. These figures describe the period they were collected in, not today.Comprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE on paper but the mandate has EXPIRED. AB 746 (effective 2018-01-01) required community water systems to test all public K-12 school sites built before 2010-01-01, by 2019-07-01. The program ENDED 2019-07-01 and its database is CLOSED to new submissions, though some districts self-tested after 2020. Results for 7,500+ schools remain published via a searchable map and, importantly, as a machine-readable dataset on the California Open Data portal (T1). Same pattern as Oregon but far larger: comprehensive coverage of a snapshot that is now seven years old. Do NOT present California as currently monitoring.
2018-2019 mandate; program CLOSED 2019-07-01 โ€” the programme that produced it has endedconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
ColoradoPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. CDPHE 'Test and Fix Water for Kids' publishes a public results dashboard; EPA credits the programme with covering ~600,000 children. URL from EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09).
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
ConnecticutPublishes nothing (not confirmed at source)No published results, so there is no coverage to rate
Verified research note
STILL UNCONFIRMED, AND DELIBERATELY SO -- re-checked 2026-08-15 and left secondary. Of the three rows that rested on EPA's 'coming soon' marker alone, Alaska and Missouri both turned out to publish; Connecticut is the one where the search came back empty, and an empty search is NOT evidence of absence. That is this project's own rule and it is what put Ohio and Texas in the wrong column once, so the row keeps none-unconfirmed rather than being promoted to none-confirmed on a failure to find. WHAT WAS ACTUALLY CHECKED on 2026-08-15, which is the methodology 3 procedure in full: HEALTH -- DPH, the agency EPA's index names, across its rebuilt site and its own search twice; only guidance survives (Lead and Copper Rule pages, the schools/childcare fact sheet, the Lead in Drinking Water and water-cooler PDFs) and the Lead Poisoning Prevention and Treatment Working Group page carries meeting decks, no results. EDUCATION -- SDE publishes lead-poisoning education guidelines only, no water results. ENVIRONMENT -- DEEP's Potable Water Program is contaminated-site remediation, unrelated to schools. Also checked the Office of Early Childhood, which mandates biennial lead testing for licensed child care centres but takes the certified results as a LICENSING submission and publishes none, and data.ct.gov, which carries childhood blood-lead surveillance but no school water dataset. CONTEXT that makes the absence plausible rather than proven: Connecticut does not generally require schools to test -- only those on their own water source -- and its WIIN work is a voluntary DPH project targeting schools in the five cities with the highest childhood blood-lead levels (New Haven, Waterbury, Bridgeport, Hartford, Meriden), for which no public results surface was found even though EPA requires grant-funded results to be made public. โš ๏ธ TO CLOSE THIS: the standard Georgia met was affirmative evidence of emptiness, not a fruitless search -- so what is needed is either a DPH statement, or the WIIN project's results surface located and shown to be empty or absent. โš ๏ธ portal.ct.gov and DPH were both recently rebuilt and many old paths 404; a migration 404 is not evidence about disclosure.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-15; not confirmed at source
DelawarePublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. Division of Public Health publishes a 2023 sampling-results dashboard on the state open-data portal. โš ๏ธ The Socrata dataset uuy8-qehn reports 1,458 rows but both field listing and CSV export returned EMPTY -- resolve before ingesting. URL from EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09).
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
District of ColumbiaPublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE (5 ppb). District law requires every drinking water source to test below 5 ppb -- the FDA bottled-water standard -- and any source above it is immediately removed from service while DCPS notifies families. DGS has tested every water fountain in every DCPS building ANNUALLY since 2007 as self-imposed policy, and publishes results; DC PCSB publishes charter school results separately. Spring 2025 charter round: 1,807 devices / 3,614 samples, 6 devices elevated and remediated. Among the most rigorous regimes in the country.
annual โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
FloridaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. FDEP runs a Voluntary Lead Testing Program for Schools and Childcare Facilities built on EPA 3Ts guidance, free to SELECTED facilities -- so coverage is bounded by selection, not statewide. Program page live (HTTP 200); results surface not yet confirmed at source.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
GeorgiaPublishes nothing (confirmed at source)Portal live but contains no results โ€” the dashboard responds and lists facilities, none of which carries a result.No published results, so there is no coverage to rate
Verified research note
โš ๏ธ CORRECTED on direct API test. An earlier pass recorded Georgia as publishing because the RTI dashboard route returns HTTP 200. It does -- but it is EMPTY. The platform API lists only 42 Georgia facilities and every one has has_results_available=false and has_legacy_results_available=null. North Carolina on the identical platform returns 10,482 facilities with 2,083 carrying results, so this is Georgia's tenant being unpopulated, not a platform fault. A live dashboard with zero results tells a parent nothing, so this counts as not publishing. โš ๏ธ FOLLOW-UP: Environment America has reported 45% of 2,000+ Georgia samples above the recommended standard, so testing data exists somewhere; it is simply not in the portal EPA points to. Find where before finalising. Coverage and data vintage are left blank rather than rated: both describe published data, and this jurisdiction publishes none.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
HawaiiPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. Hawaii DOH publishes WIIN lead testing results (confirmed live). EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
IdahoPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. Idaho Bureau of Laboratories offers free lead testing to public schools and child care facilities, and IDEQ publishes the results on its website. Action level 20 ppb -- tied with Tennessee as the most permissive in the country and 20x Massachusetts. Testing is voluntary, so coverage is partial.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
IllinoisPublishes nothing (confirmed at source)No published results, so there is no coverage to rate
Verified research note
REQUIRES TESTING BUT PUBLISHES NO RESULTS - verified directly at IDPH: the page describes requirements only, with no database, spreadsheet, map or download. Pre-2000 buildings serving pre-K-grade 5 had to test and report to IDPH by end of 2018; schools notify parents directly above 5 ppb, so no cross-school comparison is possible. IDPH review found most schools detected lead in at least one source.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
IndianaPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE (listed No on sharing). Indiana Finance Authority publishes 'Indiana Lead Sampling Program: Enrollment and Results' school-by-school -- facility name, county, whether fixtures exceeded 15 ppb, remediation status -- updated QUARTERLY (confirmed live, last updated 2025-10-14). T3 because it is PDF, not machine-readable. Program sampled 915+ school buildings covering 60% of Indiana public school students; 61% of schools had at least one fixture over 15 ppb, though on average only 8% of fixtures per building.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
IowaPublishes for very few schoolsNegligible โ€” so few schools that the disclosure tells a parent almost nothing
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE (listed No) BUT the flip is nearly meaningless in practice. Appendix C of the Iowa DNR Public Drinking Water Program Annual Compliance Report publishes WIIN results for 2025-04-01 to 2026-03-31: FOUR organizations, 28 buildings, 119 total tests, 1 result over the action level. Iowa has roughly 1,300 public schools. Counting this as 'publishes results' without stating the coverage would badly mislead. Testing is voluntary.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
KansasPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. Public 120Water results portal, confirmed live. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
KentuckyPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVED AT SOURCE 2026-08-15, in a browser: the ArcGIS layer DOES carry results, and Kentucky publishes. This was the survey's lone Unknown. EEC's programme page (eec.ky.gov/Environmental-Protection/Water/Drinking/Pages/school-lead-testing.aspx) links a dashboard titled 'Lead Sampling Results in Drinking Water Outlets at Kentucky Schools and Childcare Facilities', backed by the public feature service watermaps.ky.gov/arcgis/rest/services/GrantData/WIIN_Facility/FeatureServer. Queried directly: layer 0 = 263 facilities (177 SCH + 86 CCF), table 4 = FixtureResults with 2,626 rows across 226 distinct facilities, EVERY row carrying a non-null INIRESULT in ppb -- so this is not a Georgia-shaped live-but-empty portal, which is the specific thing that had to be ruled out. Range 0.5-691 ppb; 121 fixtures at or above 5 ppb, 31 at or above 15. Sample dates 2023-03-31 to 2026-06-02, hence vintage current. COVERAGE IS partial: KY Division of Water runs this as an explicitly 'voluntary lead sampling program for schools and childcare facilities' funded by the 2016 WIIN Act, and 177 schools is a fraction of Kentucky's ~1,477 public schools -- a voluntary grant round is the rubric's definition of partial. dataTier is T1: the results are a queryable ArcGIS REST endpoint returning JSON, not a document. ACTION LEVEL DELIBERATELY UNSET: the EEC page discusses setting an 'Action Level Exceedance' but states no number, so there is nothing to record. โš ๏ธ EPA's index still marks Kentucky '(coming soon)' -- this row is now direct evidence that the marker means 'no WIIN-grant portal' and NOT 'publishes nothing', which is the premise the Alaska/Connecticut/Missouri rows rested on. โš ๏ธ NOT INGESTED, but noted for whoever does: 1,754 of the 2,626 readings sit at exactly 0.5 ppb (66.8%) with none below, which is the unflagged-reporting-floor signature of methodology 5b -- treat as not determinate until KY publishes a limit.
Sampling 2023-03-31 to 2026-06-02; dashboard states results are posted as they become available โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-15
LouisianaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. LDH administers the WIIN grant program offering free testing at eligible schools and child care facilities, and publishes per-facility 'Final Sampling Report' PDFs under /assets/oph/Center-EH/drinkingwater/WIIN_Act_Water_Sample_Reports/. T3 -- one PDF per school, no bulk dataset. Voluntary and grant-limited, so coverage is partial.
WIIN grant period โ€” currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
MainePublished for all schools, testing endedProgramme ended or closed โ€” data frozen at 2021-2023 cycle, closed. These figures describe the period they were collected in, not today.Comprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. A 2019 law mandated every K-12 school in Maine test for lead; sampling ran Aug 2021 to 2023-06-30. MaineTracking publishes a Tableau dashboard with maps of average lead per school AND tables of INDIVIDUAL FIXTURE results, from standing-water first-draw samples. Caveat carried by the state: the dashboard shows INITIAL results only, not post-remediation, so it overstates current risk at remediated taps. The sampling program has ENDED, so this is a closed 2021-2023 cycle rather than live monitoring. Dashboard: https://oit-tableau.maine.gov/t/DHHS/views/MapSchoolLead-Prod1_0/Dashboard
2021-2023 cycle, closed โ€” the programme that produced it has endedconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
MarylandPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE (5 ppb). ALL Maryland schools, public AND nonpublic, serving pre-K to grade 12 must test every three years while school is in session; an outlet above 5 ppb must be CLOSED and remediated. MDE publishes an annual report to the Governor naming each school and address with its results. Most recent cycle (2024-07-02 to 2025-07-01): 294 schools with valid data, 46% (113 public, 2 charter, 19 nonpublic) had at least one sample above 5 ppb; 6.9% of 7,009 valid samples exceeded. Coverage marked partial -- 294 schools is a fraction of Maryland's total, reflecting the rolling three-year cycle. T3: results are published as PDF reports.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
MassachusettsPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. MassDEP publishes lead and copper results through the EEA data portal, plus the UMass WaterSmart programme. Massachusetts uses a 1 ppb action level -- the STRICTEST in the country and 20x Tennessee/Idaho. Reported >80% of 62,557 taps tested positive for lead, which is a detection rate at 1 ppb and must never be compared with a 15 ppb state's exceedance rate. URL from EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09).
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
MichiganPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
REVERSED ON BOTH COUNTS since NASBE, which lists MI as No/No. (1) Clean Drinking Water Access Act, 2023 PA 154 + amendments to the Child Care Organizations Act ('Filter First'), effective 2023-10-24, REQUIRES schools and child care centers to adopt a Drinking Water Management Plan, install lead-reducing filters on ALL consumptive fixtures, and TEST filtered water. (2) EGLE publishes a School & Child Care Lead Sampling Dashboard of investigative results. MI is now among the most protective states, not the least. EGLE recommends action above 5 ppb; note the 12 ppb figure seen elsewhere is the COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY action level (lowered from 15 on 2025-01-01), not a school standard - do not conflate. Tier T3: Power BI export is harder than Socrata/ArcGIS.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
MinnesotaPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE (listed No on sharing). MDH launched a public INTERACTIVE MAP in March 2025 showing lead detected at all public and charter schools and licensed child care centers (confirmed live). Minnesota law has required public/charter schools to test every 5 years AND make results public since 2017; from 2024-07-01 licensed child care centers must test too, and both must report to MDH. Map is NOT yet fully populated -- sites are at different points in their 5-year cycles, 190 had reported at launch (76% of fixtures no lead detected, <5% at or above 5 ppb). Treat coverage as partial and say so.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
MississippiPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. Delivered as 'SipSafe' through MSU Extension, not a state agency -- same university-extension model as Rhode Island (URI). EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
MissouriPublishes for very few schoolsNegligible โ€” so few schools that the disclosure tells a parent almost nothing
Verified research note
CORRECTED ON BOTH AXES 2026-08-15, verified at source. The old row said Missouri neither requires testing nor publishes; both were wrong, and the requireTesting error is the larger one. โš ๏ธ TESTING IS MANDATORY: the Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077, 2022) requires every school pre-K-12 to test ALL potable outlets before 2024-08-01 and annually thereafter, against a state action level of 5 ppb -- stricter than the federal 15. So Missouri is one of the states that mandates testing, filed here until now as one that does not. PUBLICATION IS REAL BUT NEGLIGIBLE: DESE publishes 80 per-school result PDFs for the 25 schools of Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled, the school system DESE itself operates. Opened one in a browser (Autumn Hill, tested 2025-11-04): 'NOTICE OF TEST RESULTS TO AGENCY', outlets tested, count at or above 5 ppb, and a per-outlet summary table against both 0.015 mg/L and the Missouri 5 ppb standard. Those are real results on a state agency's own site. But 25 schools against Missouri's ~2,400 public schools is the Iowa shape exactly, hence negligible -- the grade exists so this cannot be scored alongside a statewide dataset. โš ๏ธ WHAT MISSOURI DOES NOT PUBLISH, and why the negative half of the old row was still half right: DHSS collects every school's results through a REDCap survey (redcapdcphlinux.azurewebsites.net/redcap/surveys/) which is an INTAKE form, not a public database -- and checking that a portal responds is not checking that it publishes. Nothing on the DHSS programme page carries results. RSMo 160.077 also directs the department, with DESE, to publish a biennial report of the findings ON THE DNR WEBSITE; searched dnr.mo.gov via its own site search and externally on 2026-08-15 and found no such report. Statute also requires each school to post its own results within two weeks, so Missouri's disclosure is real but decentralised across ~2,400 district sites, which is not a state-published dataset and is not counted as one here. โš ๏ธ health.mo.gov was rebuilt shortly before this check and the old Get-the-Lead-Out URLs 404; the live page is health.mo.gov/prevention/environmental-factors/get-lead-out-school-drinking-water. A 404 from a site migration is not evidence about disclosure.
MSSD reports received by DESE 2024-09 to 2025-11; testing is annual and ongoing โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-15
MontanaPublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE (5 ppb). Mandatory for all schools accredited by the Montana Board of Public Education, effective 2020-01-17, with initial sampling due 2021-12-31: all drinking fountains and kitchen fixtures, plus all other human-consumption fixtures unless DEQ approves a representative sampling plan. DEQ publishes sample results WITH REMEDIATION STATUS via an EQuIS portal. Note Montana's 5.0 ug/L is chosen as the practical quantitation level for lead -- the lowest reliably measurable concentration -- not as a health-based threshold. Worth stating precisely; it is a different justification from NY/WA/MD's 5 ppb.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
NebraskaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE (listed No). DWEE publishes a downloadable xlsx of testing AND remediation results, dated 2025-10-20. Genuinely substantial: 4,099 rows, 723 distinct facilities, 1,982 numeric results, sample-level with facility, collect date, city, location, result ppb and remediation activity. Distribution: median 1.80 ppb, 19.0% at/above 5 ppb, 4.5% at/above 15 ppb, max 2,120 ppb. Testing is VOLUNTARY and free (state-funded testing plus fixture replacement), and the page states plainly that a facility missing from the list may simply never have tested. Mixes schools and childcare (location values like PRESCHOOL, INFANT 1).
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
NevadaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. EPA's index points to ndep.nv.gov/lead; the separate ndepleadtestingprogram.org site has a Results nav item but /results 404s. Two WIIN-funded programmes (NDEP + DPBH + Dept of Education + Washoe County Health District). EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
New HampshirePublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE: action level is 5 ppb, not 15. NH law requires ALL public and nonpublic schools and licensed child care programs to sample every outlet available for consumption by children -- fountains, classroom sinks, kitchen sinks. The 'Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water' program's UNH-built public dashboard launched January 2026 and shows levels plus remediation steps, making it one of the freshest state resources in the country. First round processed 23,000+ outlets across 625 schools and 594 licensed child care facilities: 14% of outlets at/above 5 ppb, 25% between 1 and 5 ppb, 61% no lead detected. EPA separately notes NH leads the nation with 360 schools having replaced drinking water apparatus.
dashboard launched Jan 2026 โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
New JerseyPublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. NJDOE runs a centralized state-managed database of lead testing per school entity: whether any sample exceeded the action level, date of most recent sampling, a link to full results, and district contact. Updated on a rolling basis. Testing is required on a statewide THREE-YEAR cycle (2021-22, then 2024-25).
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
New MexicoPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE (listed No). NMED runs 'Get the Lead Out NM' (GTLO), offering free sampling to public schools and licensed childcare facilities, and publishes per-facility test reports in two tabs (schools, childcare), stated to be updated regularly. T3: reports are linked one facility at a time, not a bulk machine-readable dataset. Facility count and year range not stated on the page -- quantify before citing coverage.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
New YorkPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
CHANGED since NASBE: 15->5 ppb effective 2022-12-22 (Public Health Law 1110 revisions). Lead-free building exemption removed; triennial testing cycle. Six Socrata datasets spanning 2016-2026. Column names outlets_gt_5ppb/outlets_lteq_5ppb confirm the 5 ppb level at source.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
North CarolinaPublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE, and NASBE's '10 ppb after 12/21' has taken effect. Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids (NC DPI + NC DHHS + RTI International + Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, launched 2023-09) covers public schools, licensed child care centers and family child care homes for lead in water plus lead paint and asbestos. Public per-facility Data Mapper is live (HTTP 200), browsable by county. Predecessor program Clean Water for Carolina Kids tested ALL child care centers in the state: 97% had lead present and 16% had very elevated lead in at least one tap.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
North DakotaPublishes nothing (confirmed at source)No published results, so there is no coverage to rate
Verified research note
CONFIRMED still not publishing. NDDEQ runs a statewide VOLUNTARY screening program and publishes program guidance only -- no list, table, spreadsheet or map of results. Worse than voluntary: 'there are no funds available from NDDEQ to pay the costs to test water samples from schools and child care facilities for lead', so interested facilities must pay at their own expense. Unfunded and unpublished.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
OhioPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
โš ๏ธ CORRECTION -- an earlier pass recorded Ohio as NOT publishing. That was WRONG. Ohio operates a public ArcGIS results dashboard (confirmed live), listed on EPA's own state grant-program contacts index. The error came from searching Ohio EPA's drinking-water pages, where the dashboard is not surfaced, and treating absence there as absence everywhere -- the exact failure mode flagged in that entry. Separately, schools that are themselves public water systems must issue a lead consumer notice to guardians within two business days. Testing is not required statewide, so coverage is partial. Press previously reported 14,000+ fixtures tested with 1,400+ above the federal limit.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
OklahomaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. Oklahoma DEQ publishes Lead in Water in Schools and Childcare (LWSC) results. NASBE records a combined 1 and 15 ppb action level. URL from EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09).
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
OregonPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
A THIRD failure mode, distinct from 'does not publish' and 'publishes almost nothing': Oregon publishes an ArcGIS MapSeries of school lead results, but it is a ONE-TIME 2016 dataset and OHA itself warns 'This map contains data submitted in 2016. Schools continue to test, fix problems and retest.' A parent checking it today learns nothing current. Counting Oregon as 'shares results publicly' without the vintage would be misleading. Map: http://geo.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=6a4f2b6001bd474ca7d0a7f0c2552f57
2016 only โ€” state flags it as outdated โ€” the state itself flags the published data as outdatedconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
PennsylvaniaPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
CHANGED 2026: July 2026 budget raised the REPORTING threshold from >0 ppb (Act 39 of 2018) to >=5 ppb. The xlsx schema also changed in May 2026, breaking the time series. Act 39 does not require testing - schools may opt out by discussing lead at an annual public meeting.
the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
Rhode IslandPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. RIDOH publishes results on its website; program is a RIDOH + URI Cooperative Extension + RIDE partnership offering free testing, extended to child care facilities in 2024. Progress as reported: 148 public schools covering 60,000+ students, 1,022 faucets and fountains tested -- about half of public schools done, so coverage is partial. โญ KEY METHODOLOGY ILLUSTRATION: nearly 80% of FIXTURES detected no lead and under 4% exceeded 10 ppb, but about 70% of SCHOOLS had lead detected in at least one fixture and 21% had high levels in at least one. Same data, wildly different headline depending on the unit of analysis. Our methodology page must state which unit every figure uses.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
South CarolinaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. SC Department of Environmental Services runs a WIIN-funded Lead Testing in Public Schools and Childcare Facilities Grant Program providing free testing statewide. Voluntary and grant-bounded, so coverage is partial. Results surface not yet confirmed at source.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
South DakotaPublishes nothing (confirmed at source)No published results, so there is no coverage to rate
Verified research note
โš ๏ธ CORRECTED on direct test: the 120Water portal EPA still lists for South Dakota is DECOMMISSIONED -- southdakota.120wateraudit.com returns HTTP 303 redirecting to the vendor's marketing homepage (www.120wateraudit.com), serving no state data at all. Kansas, West Virginia and Virginia run the same platform and all resolve normally, so this is South Dakota's tenant being gone rather than a platform outage. Also demonstrates that EPA's contacts index is not perfectly current and its URLs must be tested, not trusted.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
TennesseePublishes for all schools, still testingComprehensive โ€” essentially every school in the jurisdiction
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE (20 ppb -- tied with Idaho for the most permissive action level in the country, 20x Massachusetts). Dedicated public results site covering public schools AND licensed child care centers statewide. 2019 law: districts with any building built before 1998 must have a lead testing system; at or above 20 ppb parents must be notified, the source taken offline, and retested 90 days after remediation. A Tennessee Department of Health report found 53 school districts with at least one drinking water source at high lead levels.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
TexasPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
โš ๏ธ CORRECTED -- an earlier pass recorded Texas as 'participants only, do not count as publishing'. That was wrong. Texas publishes at txleadtesting.org/public-results (confirmed live), same platform family as Tennessee. The TCEQ ArcGIS layer (1,608 schools + child-care layer, machine-readable) remains a useful participation roster: https://gisweb.tceq.texas.gov/arcgis/rest/services/Public/Lead_Testing_in_School_and_Child_Care_Program_Participants/MapServer . EPA credits Texas with sampling ~97% of its ~1,552 participating facilities. Not state-mandated, so coverage partial. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
UtahPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
Confirms NASBE. Utah DEQ publishes a dynamic school lead report via waterlink.utah.gov (confirmed live) -- supersedes the vaguer 'Lead-Free Learning' reference. Cradock counted Utah among the 7 states with compiled electronic results in 2022. Salt Lake County ArcGIS layers found earlier are LOCAL, not statewide. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
VermontPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
Dedicated public results site (React app); underlying API not yet located - guessed endpoints 404. 98% of schools tested; 1 in 5 taps elevated across 15,000+ taps (Jun 2019 - Dec 2021).
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
VirginiaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes, and fills NASBE's N/A action level with 15 ppb. VDH Office of Drinking Water runs an EPA-funded statewide VOLUNTARY sampling program for public PreK-12 schools and licensed child care centers, with a Public Transparency Dashboard (built with 120Water) reporting all sampling results and remediation measures. Separately, Virginia code as amended April 2020 REQUIRES local school boards and licensed child day programs to submit testing plans and results to VDH and to notify parents above 15 ppb -- so the mandate and the published dashboard are two different things, and the dashboard covers only grant-funded projects. Coverage partial for that reason. Environment America graded Virginia a D.
rolling โ€” the programme is running and the data is still being added toconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
WashingtonPublishes results, breadth not yet ratedNot yet rated by this survey โ€” the jurisdiction publishes results and it is our breadth rating that is outstanding, not the size of its dataset
Verified research note
20,366 sample-level rows with lead_ppb per individual sample. Richest raw data found in any state.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
West VirginiaPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. Public 120Water results portal, confirmed live. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdconfirmed at sourceConfirmed at source 2026-08-09
WisconsinPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES NASBE Unknowns on all three columns. Wisconsin DHS runs the schools/child care lead program. NOTE: Wisconsin also has an entirely separate, well-covered LEAD SERVICE LINE story (Wisconsin Watch, June 2026) -- do not conflate service lines with in-building school fixtures. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source
WyomingPublishes for some schoolsPartial โ€” some schools only
Verified research note
RESOLVES a NASBE Unknown to Yes. Wyoming DEQ lead testing in drinking water page. EPA's Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing state grant-program contacts index (retrieved 2026-08-09) is the authoritative index of state RESULTS portals; it is where this URL comes from.
currency not established by the evidence we holdreported, not verified at sourceChecked 2026-08-09; not confirmed at source

The one cross-state comparison this data supports

Every share below counts fixture samples at or above 15 ppb, the federal action level, recomputed from the raw results so that one threshold applies to every state here. The denominator is all samples collected โ€” non-detects included, because dropping them inflates every share and flatters the states honest enough to report them. Jurisdictions are listed alphabetically and are not ranked.

  • California1.2% (517 of 43,978 samples collected) โ€” fixtures at or above 15 ppb, the federal action level, applied here to every state alikeCaliforniaโ€™s own action level is 15 ppb, and the figures on its own page are counted against that.
  • North Carolina1.2% (560 of 46,876 samples collected) โ€” fixtures at or above 15 ppb, the federal action level, applied here to every state alikeNorth Carolinaโ€™s own action level is 10 ppb, and the figures on its own page are counted against that.
  • Washington6.3% (1,281 of 20,366 samples collected) โ€” fixtures at or above 15 ppb, the federal action level, applied here to every state alikeWashingtonโ€™s own action level is 5 ppb, and the figures on its own page are counted against that.

These 3 are the only states whose published rows can carry this comparison: each files one row per fixture sample, publishes all results rather than exceedances only, marks the readings its laboratory could not measure, and reported every one of those non-detects below 15 ppb โ€” so a recount at that level is arithmetic on what they published, not an estimate.

Kansas is excluded because its source does not distinguish a reading it could not measure from one it could โ€” every row arrives as a number, none flagged. Which readings are non-detects is therefore not derivable from what Kansas publishes, and the check that makes this recount arithmetic rather than an estimate โ€” that every censored reading sat below 15 ppb โ€” cannot be performed. Its own page states what we infer about that, and why we do not state a reporting limit.

New York is excluded because its published data is school-unit: the source files one row per school carrying that school's count of outlets above its own action level, not the individual fixture readings. There is no per-fixture value to recount at a common threshold, and counting its schools alongside the others' fixtures would be the exact unit mix this survey refuses to make.

Virginia is excluded because its source does not distinguish a reading it could not measure from one it could โ€” every row arrives as a number, none flagged. Which readings are non-detects is therefore not derivable from what Virginia publishes, and the check that makes this recount arithmetic rather than an estimate โ€” that every censored reading sat below 15 ppb โ€” cannot be performed. Its own page states what we infer about that, and why we do not state a reporting limit.

West Virginia is excluded because its source does not distinguish a reading it could not measure from one it could โ€” every row arrives as a number, none flagged. Which readings are non-detects is therefore not derivable from what West Virginia publishes, and the check that makes this recount arithmetic rather than an estimate โ€” that every censored reading sat below 15 ppb โ€” cannot be performed. Its own page states what we infer about that, and why we do not state a reporting limit.

This is the only place on this page where a rate for one jurisdiction sits beside a rate for another. Nothing here ranks states on the share of results above โ€œthe action levelโ€: those levels run from 1 ppb to 20 ppb across the survey, so that ranking would measure thresholds rather than water.

Testing is required by law in California, North Carolina and Washington.

Download the data

Everything behind this page, in the form we hold it. Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence โ€” free to republish, chart or build on with attribution.

  • All published results, every ingested state (CSV) ยท 142,374 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every row we hold, from all seven states with row-level results, in one file. The state's own action level travels on every row alongside the verbatim source value, the normalised ppb figure and the non-detect flag.

  • California results (CSV) ยท 43,978 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every California row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row.

  • Kansas results (CSV) ยท 11,519 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every Kansas row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row.

  • New York results (CSV) ยท 4,489 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every New York row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row.

  • North Carolina results (CSV) ยท 46,876 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every North Carolina row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row. The 20 dated rows this site excludes from its sampling window as implausible keep their published dates here.

  • Virginia results (CSV) ยท 13,906 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every Virginia row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row. The 3 dated rows this site excludes from its sampling window as implausible keep their published dates here.

  • Washington results (CSV) ยท 20,366 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every Washington row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row.

  • West Virginia results (CSV) ยท 1,240 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    Every West Virginia row exactly as the source published it: the verbatim result string beside the normalised value, the non-detect flag, and the state's own action level on every row.

  • The 51-jurisdiction transparency scorecard (CSV) ยท 51 rows ยท CC BY 4.0

    The survey itself: one row per jurisdiction with its tier, coverage, vintage, evidence grade, action level, source URL, verification date and our verbatim research note.

Non-detects are never written as zeros in any of these files: the verbatim source value and a separate non-detect flag both survive, so a rate recomputed from them can state its own denominator.

Cite this page

TapWaterData Editorial. "National school drinking water lead testing database." TapWaterData national school drinking-water lead testing database. Last updated 2026-08-15. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. https://www.tapwaterdata.com/school-lead-testing

@misc{tapwaterdata_school_lead_2026,
  author       = {TapWaterData Editorial},
  title        = {National school drinking water lead testing database},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://www.tapwaterdata.com/school-lead-testing}},
  note         = {Last updated 2026-08-15. Licensed under CC BY 4.0}
}

Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) licence โ€” free to republish, chart or build on with attribution. Last updated .

The rest of the section

  • Methodology โ€” the four axes every figure carries, the evidence standard, the tier rubric verbatim, and what we will not publish.
  • Find a school โ€” the one page that names schools, where every reading carries its stateโ€™s remediation note.

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