What’s an unfunded mandate is a typical question raised, particularly during budget season. A recent bill submitted to the Massachusetts House of Representatives that would require the sterilization of all school band instruments is a classic example.
The bill known as H5176, received initial approval in December 2008 and would require that beginning in January 2010, all public and private schools in the state must sanitize any woodwind or brass instrument (such as a flute, clarinet, trumpet, or trombone) prior to loaning it to a student for use. The committee on Health Care Financing, to whom was referred the report of the Special Commission established (under Chapter 2 of the Resolves of 2007), providing for an investigation and study relative to examining hygienic procedures relative to band instruments (House, No. 5124), reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 5176) ought to pass. The bill reads as follows:
Any musical wind instrument provided by any school, public or private, to a student in grades pre-K through 12, for any instruction or activity of any nature, shall be thoroughly sterilized prior to issuance to each student who uses such instrument. Such musical wind instruments shall be sterilized through a process destroying all microbial life including, but not limited to, bacteria, fungi, viruses and endspores. The sterilization shall be performed by the school issuer using a certified sterilant approved by the environmental protection agency and the process protocol shall be established by the department of public health. Compliance and enforcement shall be under the jurisdiction of the department of public health.
The bill, if passed, would have far reaching effects on local school band programs. Some have suggested that the costs associated with the sterilization process run the range of $50-$80 per instrument. The bill does not come with any funding for local districts to support this program. What that means is that local communities will have to come up with the funds themselves, despite the fact that they are already facing fiscal catastrophe.
With communities like Franklin facing substantial deficits and being called upon to eliminate or cut programs, including music, we think the focus should be on reducing financial burdens. As some have suggested, the elimination of music and arts programs that are being considered during the budget process may very well solve the alleged public health problem on its own. Rather than a sterilization bill, we would like to hear ways the legislature is looking to help us keep these programs intact; ways that we can ensure that our students are getting educated in the arts as required under the Massachusetts Constitution (Chapter V, Section II, entitled, the Encouragement of Literature, etc.).
No one argues with the intentions of the supporters of this bill. Indeed, keeping instruments free of bacteria is an important goal. However, the bill overlooks the fact that most communities, including Franklin, already take steps to ensure the safety of musical instruments. A bill such as this is an example of overreaction to a problem that may not even exist.
While this bill may be a “stimulus” package for sterilization equipment and supplies manufacturers, it’s nothing but a classic unfunded mandate and burden to financially strapped communities. Accordingly, the bill ought to be swiftly defeated.
