Guide

Radon in Pennsylvania Schools: SB 760 and HB 289

The current position

Pennsylvania requires state certification for anyone performing radon testing or mitigation for compensation, and has since 1988. It does not require that schools be tested. Those are two different things, and the gap between them is the entire subject of this page.

Some Pennsylvania districts test voluntarily. Many do not, and there is no central requirement that they report results if they do.

What SB 760 would do

Senate Bill 760 of the 2025-2026 session is an act amending the Public School Code of 1949 to provide for radon testing. As introduced, its scope is deliberately targeted rather than universal:

• It applies to public school buildings constructed before 2014
• It applies to buildings in EPA Radon Zone 1 counties, the highest-risk category
• Testing would be completed during the 2026-2027 academic year
• Mitigation would be required within six months of a confirmed result at or above 4.0 pCi/L
• Testing must be performed by someone certified under the Radon Certification Act
• Testing must follow the ANSI-AARST MA-MFLB protocol for schools and large buildings

The 2014 cutoff and the Zone 1 restriction are both cost-control measures. Newer buildings are more likely to have radon-resistant construction already, and Zone 1 counties are where the yield per test is highest.

Why this matters in York County specifically

York County is a Zone 1 county. So is every county bordering it. If SB 760 or an equivalent passed in the form introduced, every pre-2014 public school building in the county would fall within its scope.

That is not a small set. Most school buildings in the county predate 2014 by a wide margin, and older buildings are exactly the ones with slab-on-grade wings, tunnels, mechanical rooms and additions on mixed foundations, all of which are the conditions where radon accumulates.

Where the bills actually stand

SB 760 was introduced in May 2025 and referred to the Senate Institutional Sustainability and Innovation Committee, where it has sat without committee action. A parallel effort in the House, HB 289, advanced out of a House committee in March 2026. Neither has been enacted.

This is worth stating plainly, because at least one commercial radon site publishes pages framed as "Pennsylvania Radon Compliance 2026: SB 760" in a way that reads as though a compliance obligation already exists. It does not. If somebody tells a school district or a facilities manager that testing is now legally required in Pennsylvania, they are either mistaken or selling something.

For the current status, the authoritative source is the Pennsylvania General Assembly's own bill page, not this one. Legislation moves and this page will go stale.

Testing a school is not testing a house

School and large-building testing follows the ANSI-AARST MA-MFLB standard, and it differs substantially from residential practice:

• Every frequently occupied room in contact with the ground is tested, not one device per building
• Ventilation systems have to be running in their normal occupied mode during the test, because a building's mechanical ventilation is a major variable
• Testing is scheduled during the heating season where possible
• Measurements and their placement are documented room by room
• Elevated results are confirmed before mitigation is designed

The mitigation itself uses the same physics as a house, just at scale: sub-slab depressurization, with more suction points and larger fans, designed around a slab that may cover an acre.

What a parent can reasonably do

Ask the district whether its buildings have been tested, when, and what the results were. There is no requirement that they test, but there is nothing stopping a district from answering a question about whether they have. A district that has tested and mitigated will generally be happy to say so.

Meanwhile, children spend far more hours at home than at school, and the home is the one you can act on this week. Start with a test, and see York County radon levels for what the local picture does and does not tell you.

Common questions

Is radon testing required in PA schools right now?

No. There is no current statutory requirement for radon testing in Pennsylvania public schools. Individual districts may test voluntarily, and some do, but it is not mandated.

What would SB 760 require?

As introduced, radon testing in public school buildings constructed before 2014 that sit in EPA Zone 1 counties, to be completed during the 2026-2027 academic year, with mitigation required within six months of a confirmed result at or above 4.0 pCi/L. Testing would have to be done by someone certified under the Radon Certification Act and follow ANSI-AARST protocol.

Where do the bills stand?

SB 760 was introduced in May 2025 and referred to committee, where it has remained without action. A companion effort, HB 289, advanced out of a House committee in March 2026. Neither has been enacted as of September 2026. Check the General Assembly's site for the current status rather than relying on this page.