Philly School District Charged with Failing to Report Asbestos

In a historic move, Philadelphia makes notorious history, becoming the first school district in America to be criminally charged with environmental violations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania have filed charges against the School District of Philadelphia, accusing them of violating legal requirements to inspect, remediate, and report damaged asbestos in multiple city schools in a timely manner.

The school district and the U.S. Attorney’s Office entered a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in the case, which was filed in court on Thursday, June 26, 2025. The district voted to sign the DPA, which waives a grand jury indictment.

The Philadelphia School District is now the first school district in the country to be criminally charged with violations under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA). It’s also the first use of a DPA in a case against a public school district in an AHERA case, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Under federal law, school districts must keep their schools safe from airborne toxins such as asbestos and inspect, remediate and report any damaged asbestos in a timely manner. The AHERA also requires that school districts conduct formal inspections of all buildings containing asbestos and remediate any damaged asbestos every three years.

In accordance of the law, school buildings must also undergo surveillance inspections every six months in order to ensure that areas containing asbestos remain safe. School districts are also responsible for quickly responding to and addressing internal reports and complaints of damaged asbestos and filing timely reports, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The DPA contains a full list of the asbestos problems in Philadelphia schools and the district’s alleged failures to address those problems. According to the statement, the district failed to conduct timely three-year inspections in the following Philadelphia 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 also allegedly failed to conduct a timely six-month inspection at Building 21 Alternative High School.

Information from this article was source from NBC10 Philadelphia‘s David Chang.