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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Overloaded school backpacks are causing
3increasing problems of back pain and spinal strain for students
4across the nation; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Because spinal ligaments and muscles are not fully
6developed until after age 16, overweight backpacks are a cause
7of repeated low-level stress that may result in chronic neck,
8shoulder, or back pain in children; and
 
9    WHEREAS, According to the United States Consumer Product
10Safety Commission, more than 7,000 emergency room visits each
11year are due to backpack-related injuries; in 2010 alone,
12doctor offices, clinics, and hospital emergency rooms treated
13nearly 28,000 strains, sprains, dislocations, and fractures
14from backpacks; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Studies have shown heavy loads carried on the back
16have the potential to damage the soft tissues of the shoulder,
17causing microstructural damage to the nerves and damage to
18internal organs; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Studies have shown an increase in curvatures of
20the spine and compressed intervertebral height when backpacks
21exceed 10% of the body weight of a child; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The Global Burden of Disease Study of 2010 showed
2back pain as the number one cause of disability worldwide and
3musculoskeletal disorders as the second cause; and
 
4    WHEREAS, School textbooks are much heavier now than many
5years ago; in addition to textbooks, students often carry
6computers, cell phones, water bottles, running shoes, band
7instruments, and other equipment considered essential to have
8readily available; and
 
9    WHEREAS, More than 90% of students carry backpacks, which
10have been found to weigh as much as 25% of the child's body
11weight; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Backpacks are often not worn correctly - often
13slung over one shoulder or allowed to hang significantly below
14the waistline, increasing the weight on the shoulders and
15making the child lean forward when walking or stoop forward
16when standing to compensate for the weight; therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE
19CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge that all school administrators,
20teachers, parents, and students be educated about the potential
21health impact of heavy backpacks and take proactive measures to

 

 

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1avoid injury; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That Doctors of Chiropractic be permitted to
3conduct mandatory interval scoliosis examinations on children;
4and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That schools should work with their
6Parent-Teacher Associations and Parent-Teacher Organizations
7to assess the extent to which students use overweight backpacks
8and to promote innovative homework strategies, lessening the
9need to take all school materials and books back and forth each
10day; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That schools should consider the following
12points when developing their backpack education talking
13points:
 
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
14delivered to State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Smith.