Full Text of HJR0038 100th General Assembly
HJ0038 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Overloaded school backpacks are causing | 3 | | increasing problems of back
pain and spinal strain for students | 4 | | across the nation; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Because spinal ligaments and muscles are not fully | 6 | | developed until after
age 16, overweight backpacks are a cause | 7 | | of repeated low-level stress that may result in
chronic neck, | 8 | | shoulder, or back pain in children; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, According to the United States Consumer Product | 10 | | Safety Commission, more than
7,000 emergency room visits each | 11 | | year are due to backpack-related injuries; in 2010 alone,
| 12 | | doctor offices, clinics, and hospital emergency rooms treated | 13 | | nearly 28,000 strains,
sprains, dislocations, and fractures | 14 | | from backpacks; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Studies have shown heavy loads carried on the back | 16 | | have the potential to
damage the soft tissues of the shoulder, | 17 | | causing microstructural damage to the nerves and
damage to | 18 | | internal organs; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Studies have shown an increase in curvatures of | 20 | | the spine and compressed
intervertebral height when backpacks | 21 | | exceed 10% of the body weight of a child; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The Global Burden of Disease Study of 2010 showed | 2 | | back pain as the
number one cause of disability worldwide and | 3 | | musculoskeletal disorders as the second cause; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, School textbooks are much heavier now than many | 5 | | years ago; in
addition to textbooks, students often carry | 6 | | computers, cell phones, water bottles, running shoes,
band | 7 | | instruments, and other equipment considered essential to have | 8 | | readily available; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, More than 90% of students carry backpacks, which | 10 | | have been found to weigh as much as 25% of the child's body | 11 | | weight; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Backpacks are often not worn correctly - often | 13 | | slung over one shoulder or
allowed to hang significantly below | 14 | | the waistline, increasing the weight on the shoulders and
| 15 | | making the child lean forward when walking or stoop forward | 16 | | when standing to compensate for
the weight; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 18 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE | 19 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge that all school administrators, | 20 | | teachers, parents, and students be educated about the potential | 21 | | health impact of heavy backpacks and take proactive measures to |
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| 1 | | avoid injury; and be it further | 2 | | RESOLVED, That Doctors of Chiropractic be permitted to | 3 | | conduct
mandatory interval scoliosis examinations on children; | 4 | | and be it further | 5 | | RESOLVED, That schools should work with their | 6 | | Parent-Teacher Associations and Parent-Teacher Organizations | 7 | | to assess
the extent to which students use overweight backpacks | 8 | | and to promote innovative homework
strategies, lessening the | 9 | | need to take all school materials and books back and forth each | 10 | | day; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That schools should consider the following | 12 | | points when
developing their backpack education talking | 13 | | points: | 14 | | (1) Backpacks should weigh no more than a maximum of | 15 | | 10% of the body weight of the child; | 16 | | (2)
Encourage ergonomic backpacks with individualized | 17 | | compartments to
efficiently hold books and equipment; | 18 | | (3) Encourage children to wear both shoulder straps and | 19 | | not sling the backpack
over one shoulder; |
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| 1 | | (4) Encourage wide, padded adjustable straps to fit the | 2 | | body of the child; | 3 | | (5)
Encourage the heaviest books be left at school and | 4 | | handouts or workbooks
be used for homework assignments; | 5 | | (6) Schools should consider moving toward e-textbooks | 6 | | as federal and State
funding becomes available; and | 7 | | (7)
Schools should consider integrated education about | 8 | | backpacks by using a
hanging scale in the classroom, | 9 | | allowing students to weigh their backpacks
and enter the | 10 | | results into a graph that would track the weights, and then | 11 | | look
at the data to determine what can be done to lighten | 12 | | loads; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | delivered to State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Smith.
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