The Oregon Board of Education signaled general agreement Thursday with a proposed rule that would give it the power to require all schools to test for lead and radon and to set forth a plan to ensure safe water, air and physical spaces.

Board members did not vote on the requirement, however, because they must do so at a second meeting, to be held in August. Before they act, they will seek feedback from school district officials and the public.

The fast-track plan to require school health and safety plans and lead testing came in response to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan, and subsequent revelations of lead in drinking water in schools in Portland, Eugene, David Douglas, Beaverton, Gresham and elsewhere.

In response, the Oregon Department of Education and the Oregon Health Authority together recommended that all schools test for lead in water, release the results and act on them. But they conceded they had no power to insist that schools do so, nor money to pay for testing or fixes.

The new rule, considered by the board Thursday at the behest of Gov. Kate Brown, would give them that authority to require testing -- but not the money to pay for it.

Board members indicated they are on board with the plan. One of their only serious questions about it: Is approving it in August moving too slowly? Board member Jerry Colonna, the former Beaverton superintendent, posed that question, but was ultimately reassured that water testing is being conducted broadly in Oregon schools even before the requirement is made official.

Board members also noted concerns about how school districts will pay for the testing and any fixes that need to be made once results are known. But they did not consider that a reason not to move ahead.

"This is will make parents feel much safer," said board chairwoman Miranda Summer.

The next big step is for the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority, in consultation with the federal Environmental Protection Agency and other health watchdogs, to come up with a "model" safety plan that Oregon school boards can adopt. It would address what to test in addition to radon and lead in drinking water -- lead chips on playgrounds, air quality in classrooms, peeling paint inside schools, falling hazards, the presence of lead dust anywhere on school grounds all are possibilties -- and how and how often to measure them.

Officials plan to write that model plan by early August so they can get schools' feedback before the final vote on the rule.

Public health officials say lead dust and debris pose a much greater risk to children's healthy development than does lead in drinking water. But public sentiment against tainted water runs so strongly that water testing is underway in all parts of the state.

Oregon schools are not required to test for radon until 2020, and those tests are most accurate when conducted during the winter, health officials say.

-- Betsy Hammond

@chalkup