… For generations, America’s crumbling infrastructure has quietly poisoned its most vulnerable populations. From peeling paint in public housing to unsafe water pipes beneath city streets, lead has lingered long before and after its federal ban in 1978. But while the government has taken action against lead exposure in homes, experts say its impact in our schools remains overlooked. … Nationwide, more than 38 percent of public K-12 schools were built before 1970, well before the government banned the use of lead-based paint. Many of the schools were built to serve Black students in underfunded, segregated neighborhoods, and these aging buildings often contain lead service lines, contaminating the water that flows into cafeteria faucets and hallway water fountains.