Tens of thousands of families entrust their children to the directorate five days a week. They are entitled to know what risks, no matter how minimal, exist at each and every one of the territory's 89 schools.

Asbestos was a red-button issue here long before the government spent almost a billion dollars demolishing hundreds of Mr Fluffy homes. That project was also notable for an aversion by politicians and administrators to taking the community into their confidence.

Lead, once widely used in paint, has been linked to brain damage, development disorders, learning difficulties and even death. It accumulates in the body and children are particularly susceptible to its effects.

It is not surprising that when reports surfaced that lead dust had been found at four primary schools, parents were concerned.

ACT Council of Parents and Citizens Associations spokeswoman Alison Elliott called for a remediation plan.

"Lead and asbestos are still present in our schools. While they will require ongoing management, parents also want to see - at the same time - action on a long-term plan to upgrade these older schools and to actually remove these materials," she said in February.

"We need long-term funding and a clear plan to make our schools fit for the next generation. We can't keep handing down these hazards."

Ms Elliott was still calling for the development of a comprehensive plan this week, more than a month later.

The Education Directorate in the meantime had dug in its heels over releasing detailed information about how many of Canberra's schools were contaminated with lead or asbestos.

When opposition education spokesman Jeremy Hanson pushed back, calling for a list of affected schools to be made public on the basis parents had a right to know about hazardous materials, the Education Minister Yvette Berry continued to stonewall.

She also advanced one of the more intriguing rationales for non-disclosure concocted by any government in recent times.

That was that she hadn't provided a full list of affected schools because the opposition could use it to spread fear in the community.

Surely the fear engendered by ignorance and uncertainty would be far greater than any concerns based on the full disclosure of the facts?

That said, once the list was made public on Wednesday, it became apparent that it may have been simpler to say which schools weren't contaminated rather than the reverse.

A total of 69 of the ACT's 89 public schools are contaminated with lead and asbestos. A total of 75 are contaminated with lead and a total of 71 are contaminated with asbestos.

The good news is the hazards are actively monitored, each school has a hazardous materials register, and the directorate is determined to ensure schools provide a safe environment.

All of this information is as welcome as it will be helpful to families' peace of mind.

The real issue is the government's initial decision to run with its well-documented default and paternalistic "we know best" attitude instead of taking the community into its confidence.

If the Education Directorate had communicated well, explaining what appears to be a relatively low level of risk, it would have headed off any potential fear mongering before it could even begin.

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