Bill Text: NJ A4250 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits instruction on backpack safety to be included in the curriculum of elementary, middle, and high school students as part of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-11-10 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A4250 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-A4250-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman WAYNE P. DEANGELO
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Permits instruction on backpack safety to be included in the curriculum of elementary, middle, and high school students as part of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning backpack safety education for public school students and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Backpacks of elementary and secondary school pupils often contain textbooks, binders, calculators, personal computers, lunches, a change of clothing, sports equipment and more;
b. Elementary and secondary school pupils are carrying backpacks weighing as much as 40 pounds;
c. Chiropractors and pediatricians are seeing an increased number of children for spinal column injuries, nontraumatic back pain, and significant postural changes from overloaded backpacks;
d. Chiropractors and pediatricians recommend that backpacks not exceed more than 15 percent of a pupil's body weight; and
e. In 1999, more than 3,400 pupils between 5 and 14 years of age sought treatment in hospital emergency rooms for injuries related to backpacks or book bags, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
2. A board of education may include instruction on backpack safety in an appropriate place in the curriculum of elementary, middle, and high school students as part of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The Comprehensive Health and Physical Education curriculum framework developed by the Department of Education shall include sample learning activities and resources on choosing a backpack, packing a backpack, lifting a backpack, and wearing a backpack based on standards as set forth by Backpack Safety America.
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that a
school district may include instruction on backpack safety in an appropriate
place in the curriculum of elementary, middle, and high school students as part
of the Core Curriculum Content Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical
Education. The bill directs that the Comprehensive Health
and Physical Education curriculum framework developed by the Department of
Education include sample learning activities and resources on choosing a
backpack, packing a backpack, lifting a backpack, and wearing a backpack based
on standards set forth by Backpack Safety America. Backpack Safety America is
an educational program which promotes children's health by helping children
pack, lift, and carry their backpacks without injuring themselves.
