HJ0038 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0038 LRB100 11671 MST 22569 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Overloaded school backpacks are causing increasing problems of back pain and spinal strain for students across the nation; and

WHEREAS, Because spinal ligaments and muscles are not fully developed until after age 16, overweight backpacks are a cause of repeated low-level stress that may result in chronic neck, shoulder, or back pain in children; and

WHEREAS, According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 7,000 emergency room visits each year are due to backpack-related injuries; in 2010 alone, doctor offices, clinics, and hospital emergency rooms treated nearly 28,000 strains, sprains, dislocations, and fractures from backpacks; and

WHEREAS, Studies have shown heavy loads carried on the back have the potential to damage the soft tissues of the shoulder, causing microstructural damage to the nerves and damage to internal organs; and

WHEREAS, Studies have shown an increase in curvatures of the spine and compressed intervertebral height when backpacks exceed 10% of the body weight of a child; and

WHEREAS, The Global Burden of Disease Study of 2010 showed back pain as the number one cause of disability worldwide and musculoskeletal disorders as the second cause; and

WHEREAS, School textbooks are much heavier now than many years ago; in addition to textbooks, students often carry computers, cell phones, water bottles, running shoes, band instruments, and other equipment considered essential to have readily available; and

WHEREAS, More than 90% of students carry backpacks, which have been found to weigh as much as 25% of the child's body weight; and

WHEREAS, Backpacks are often not worn correctly - often slung over one shoulder or allowed to hang significantly below the waistline, increasing the weight on the shoulders and making the child lean forward when walking or stoop forward when standing to compensate for the weight; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge that all school administrators, teachers, parents, and students be educated about the potential health impact of heavy backpacks and take proactive measures to avoid injury; and be it further

RESOLVED, That Doctors of Chiropractic be permitted to conduct mandatory interval scoliosis examinations on children; and be it further

RESOLVED, That schools should work with their Parent-Teacher Associations and Parent-Teacher Organizations to assess the extent to which students use overweight backpacks and to promote innovative homework strategies, lessening the need to take all school materials and books back and forth each day; and be it further

RESOLVED, That schools should consider the following points when developing their backpack education talking points:

(1) Backpacks should weigh no more than a maximum of 10% of the body weight of the child;

(2) Encourage ergonomic backpacks with individualized compartments to efficiently hold books and equipment;

(3) Encourage children to wear both shoulder straps and not sling the backpack over one shoulder;

(4) Encourage wide, padded adjustable straps to fit the body of the child;

(5) Encourage the heaviest books be left at school and handouts or workbooks be used for homework assignments;

(6) Schools should consider moving toward e-textbooks as federal and State funding becomes available; and

(7) Schools should consider integrated education about backpacks by using a hanging scale in the classroom, allowing students to weigh their backpacks and enter the results into a graph that would track the weights, and then look at the data to determine what can be done to lighten loads; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be delivered to State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tony Smith.