DOJ files criminal charges against School District of Philadelphia over asbestos management

Have a question about Philly’s neighborhoods or the systems that shape them? PlanPhilly reporters want to hear from you! Ask us a question or send us a story idea you think we should cover.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed criminal charges against the School District of Philadelphia for allegedly failing to inspect several of its schools for dangerous asbestos in compliance with federal law.

The district is the first in the country to be criminally charged with these violations, according to officials. The charges follow a five-year investigation of the district’s handling of cancer-causing asbestos.

The school board approved an agreement with the DOJ Thursday to defer the criminal prosecution, meaning the federal government can drop the charges if the district maintains compliance with federal asbestos management law.

The agreement still needs to be approved by a judge. It would give the federal government the “highest available level of prosecutorial and judicial oversight” over the district’s efforts to manage asbestos in its schools over the next five years, said U.S. Attorney David Metcalf in a statement Thursday.

“Most importantly, the [agreement] provides the best possible platform for students, teachers, staff, and others who may spend time in our schools to breathe clean air free of asbestos,” Metcalf said.

Damaged asbestos-containing materials, which can cause cancer and other lung diseases, has led the district to shutter numerous schools in recent years.

The school district is charged with failing to perform timely inspections

Asbestos is present in nearly 300 of the district’s roughly 339 buildings, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act, the school district must inspect all of its buildings every three years for asbestos and remediate any damaged asbestos. The district must then conduct surveillance inspections every six months to make sure any asbestos-containing materials are not releasing dangerous fibers.

Federal prosecutors allege the district failed to follow these rules in at least eight instances between 2018 and 2023.

The district is charged with failing to conduct the three-year inspections in a timely manner in the following seven schools:

• William Meredith Elementary
• Building 21 Alternative High School
• Southwark Elementary
• S. Weir Mitchell Elementary
• Charles W. Henry Elementary
• Universal Vare Charter School
• Frankford High School

The district is also charged with failing to conduct timely six-month surveillance inspections at:

• Building 21 Alternative High School

The deferred prosecution agreement lists a total of 31 school buildings with asbestos problems from 2015 to 2023, including some with “multiple areas of damaged asbestos, which posed continuing and repeated problems and sometimes went unattended or were improperly addressed,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The investigation even found instances in which duct tape was used to improperly cover up damaged asbestos, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.

A history of asbestos management issues

The district has been forced to relocate students from school buildings with damaged asbestos  numerous times in recent years. In 2023, Frankford High School — the site of a celebrated solar energy training program — was one of six school buildings the district closed due to asbestos.

The federal investigation is not the first time the district has been cited for its management of the issue.

In 2020, the district agreed to pay $850,000 to a former teacher diagnosed with mesothelioma after working in the district for nearly three decades.

In the 1980s, the Environmental Protection Agency fined the district for failing to alert families to asbestos hazards in two schools.

The district says its asbestos management program is now ‘current’

The district acknowledges it “fell short” of the required inspection schedule. But district officials said in a press release Thursday that the agreement reached with the DOJ also “recognizes the investments and improvements the District has made.”

Officials say the district’s asbestos management program is now “current” in its schedule of inspections and repairs.

The district has increased the amount of money it spends each year on environmental management from just over $10 million in fiscal year 2021 to over $55 million this fiscal year. The district has also nearly doubled its Environmental Management and Services staff, officials said.

“We have rebuilt our asbestos management program so all District-owned school buildings are now inspected twice per year,” Superintendent Tony Watlington Sr. said in the release. “We have tripled our investment in environmental management with support from the University of Pennsylvania, and we have increased transparency with school communities so they can have more confidence in the District.”

If the agreement with the DOJ is approved, the district will file regular reports on its compliance with asbestos management law with the federal court for five years, officials said.

“We are committed to maintaining healthy school environments and securing the resources to do so, while providing all school communities with access to spaces that are safe, welcoming, and conducive to learning, because academic success depends on it,” said school board President Reginald Streater in a statement.