Who is responsible, the school or the landlord, for complying with AHERA?

A public school district leases space from a non-school group (e.g., corporation, YMCA, etc.) to use as a school building. 

The local education agency (LEA) is responsible for complying with the rule. Under the Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act (AHERA) section 202(7), the following are LEAs: “the public authority legally constituted within a state that governs or controls a public elementary or secondary school; the owner of any private, nonprofit elementary or secondary school building; and the governing authority of any school operated pursuant to the Defense Dependents’ Education Act.”

If the school leasing space in a non-school building is a public elementary or secondary school, which includes public elementary or secondary charter schools, or a school operated under the Defense Dependents’ Education Act, then the governing authority of the school leasing the space is the LEA and is responsible for complying with AHERA. (AHERA section 202(7)(A) and (C)). 

If the school leasing the space in a non-school building is a private, non-profit elementary or secondary school, the owner of the leased space, not the school, is the LEA and is responsible for AHERA compliance. (AHERA section 202(7)(B)).