A bill that would require all schools in New Jersey to test for the presence of lead in their water just makes sense.
The plastic bottles of donated drinking water arriving daily in Flint, Michigan tell a graphic story about the horror inflicted on that city's residents every time they turn on their taps.
A similar tragedy is playing out in Newark, where elevated levels of lead found in the water at 30 public schools have forced the schools to close, and have forced officials to take a more vigilant approach to a commodity most of us take for granted.
Now three New Jersey lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require all schools to test for lead in their drinking water, and to share the results with the public.
It's an appropriate and much needed response to a problem that's not confined to Newark.
Senate President Steve Sweeney and Democratic state senators Teresa Ruiz and Ronald Rice, both from Newark, describe Senate Bill 2022 as a straightforward, commonsense measure that would take a pro-active approach to a nationwide scourge.
Newark students to be tested for lead
To their credit, some local school districts have already taken steps to protect their youngest residents.
In Trenton, where officials say there are no signs of problems, a voluntary school water-testing program has been in place for more than a decade.
The regimen includes sampling, analyzing and, when necessary, taking corrective action when the water is deemed unacceptable.
A dozen miles to the north, the Princeton school district announced last week that the water in all six of its public schools would undergo testing this coming week while students are off for spring break.
Princeton Schools Superintendent Steve Cochrane told parents in a statement that officials have no reason to be concerned about the quality of water in the schools, and that the testing is purely precautionary, providing a helpful baseline.
The district expects to release the results around April 10.
Princeton Schools testing water for lead
The parents' concerns are legitimate. scientists have found that lead can disrupt the normal growth and development of a child's brain and central nervous system.
Early childhood is the time when the human brain grows the fastest, officials with the state Department of Health say, and when critical pathways to thinking, learning, hearing, behavior and emotions are being formed.
Although municipalities like Trenton and Princeton have taken concrete steps to prevent and/or mitigate any problems, we think the Senate bill is an important one.
New Jersey's aging and antiquated infrastructure, too long ignored, threatens to put hundreds of thousands of our schoolchildren at risk. The information gleaned from the mandated studies can help arm us to do battle with an unseen foe.