The state education department is urging Georgia school officials to evaluate the potential threat posed by carbon monoxide after lethal levels of the gas were found in an Atlanta elementary school, where more than 40 children and some adults were sent to hospitals.

Georgia law does not require carbon monoxide detectors in schools, but some districts are moving ahead anyway with plans to add them.

A school official says they will be installed in more than 20 schools in the 24,000 student Bibb County school system, one of Georgia's largest.

In a memo sent to school systems across the state this week, the Georgia Department of Education encouraged officials to evaluate potential exposure to carbon monoxide in school facilities.

In Atlanta, Finch Elementary School reopened Friday, four days after the leak there.

Tags: Georgia Department of Education, associated press, GPBnews, carbon monoxide, finch elementary school