SCR 86, as introduced, Hueso. Heavy school backpacks.
This measure would acknowledge the health risks that heavy backpacks pose to schoolchildren and recommend certain measures to be taken in that regard to avoid injury.
Fiscal committee: no.
P1 1WHEREAS, Overloaded school backpacks are causing an
2increasing problem of back pain and spinal strain in students in
3elementary and secondary schools across the nation; and
4WHEREAS, Because spinal ligaments and muscles are not fully
5developed until after 16 years of age, overweight backpacks are a
6source of repeated low-level stress that may result in chronic neck,
7shoulder, or back pain in children; and
8WHEREAS, Reviews of data have revealed over 7,000
9emergency room visits, and over 28,000 doctor’s office visits, per
10year by children for backpack-related injuries; and
11WHEREAS, Studies of the effects on children of carrying heavy
12backpacks have shown that heavy loads carried on the back have
13the potential to compress intervertebral disc height and damage
14the soft tissues of the shoulder causing microstructural damage to
15the nerves; and
16WHEREAS, Students’ textbooks are much heavier now than
17many years ago and, in addition to textbooks, students often carry
P2 1computers, cell phones, water bottles, running shoes, band
2instruments, and other equipment considered essential to have
3readily available; and
4WHEREAS, More than 90 percent of children carry a school
5backpack, which studies have found to weigh as much as 25 percent
6of the child’s body weight; and
7WHEREAS, Backpacks are often not worn correctly and are
8frequently slung over one shoulder or allowed to hang significantly
9below the waistline, increasing the weight on the shoulders and
10causing the child to lean forward when walking or standing to
11compensate for the weight; and
12WHEREAS, Rolling backpacks remove the weight from a
13child’s back, but are sometimes not allowed in schools due to a
14concern over being a trip hazard in the hallways or because of the
15difficulty of carrying them up and down stairways; now, therefore,
16be it
17Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
18thereof concurring, That the Legislature strongly recommends that
19all school administrators, teachers, parents, and school children
20be educated about the potential health impacts of heavy backpacks
21and take proactive measures to avoid injury; and be it further
22Resolved, That schools should work with parent-teacher
23organizations to assess the extent to which their students use
24overweight backpacks and to promote innovative homework
25strategies that lessen the need for students to take school materials
26and books from school to home each day; and be it further
27Resolved, That the Legislature urges schools to do the following
28when developing their guidelines for students’ use of backpacks:
29(a) Discourage students from carrying a backpack that weighs
30more than 10 percent of a student’s body weight.
31(b) Encourage the use of ergonomic backpacks with
32individualized compartments to efficiently hold books and
33equipment.
34(c) Encourage students to wear both shoulder straps and not
35sling a backpack over one shoulder.
36(d) Encourage the use of wide, padded, adjustable backpack
37straps that fit the student’s body.
38(e) Encourage
students to leave the heaviest books at school,
39and urge teachers to give handouts or workbooks that can be used
40for homework assignments.
P3 1(f) Encourage schools to make electronic versions of textbooks
2available, as federal and state funding for that purpose becomes
3available.
4(g) Offer students integrated education about backpacks by
5using a hanging scale in the classroom to allow students to weigh
6their backpacks and enter the weight into a graph that would track
7the weights and use the data to determine whether a student’s
8backpack is too heavy, and provide information about ways to
9lighten the weight of a backpack; and be it further
10Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
11this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
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