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SR0125 - 104th General Assembly
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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Illinois is contiguous to the largest body of | ||||||
| 3 | freshwater on the planet and contains 2,900 lakes, 84,000 | ||||||
| 4 | ponds, and 106,940 miles of streams as well as 880 miles of | ||||||
| 5 | rivers along its borders; and | ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Drowning is the number one cause of unintentional | ||||||
| 7 | deaths for children one to four years of age, and 54% of adult | ||||||
| 8 | Americans can not swim well enough to save themselves in an | ||||||
| 9 | emergency; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control | ||||||
| 11 | (CDC), for every one drowning fatality, eight people are | ||||||
| 12 | impacted by a non-fatal drowning; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The Every Child a Swimmer (ECAS) program is a | ||||||
| 14 | division of the International Swimming Hall of Fame and has a | ||||||
| 15 | mission to ensure every child learns to swim, reducing the | ||||||
| 16 | devastating impact of childhood drownings across our nation; | ||||||
| 17 | the program provides swim lesson scholarships to low income | ||||||
| 18 | families, allowing every child to acquire the skills to save | ||||||
| 19 | themselves in an emergency; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Water safety legislation sponsored by Every Child | ||||||
| 21 | a Swimmer has been successfully implemented in Florida, | ||||||
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| 1 | Georgia, and Arkansas, requiring all schools K-12 to provide | ||||||
| 2 | information on the importance of water safety and on local | ||||||
| 3 | options for swim lessons as well as how to receive lessons at a | ||||||
| 4 | free or reduced cost; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, These efforts are creating a generation of | ||||||
| 6 | swimmers who are safer and more prepared around the water; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, By working together to improve water competency, | ||||||
| 8 | including swimming skills, water safety knowledge, and helping | ||||||
| 9 | others, water activities can be safer yet just as fun; | ||||||
| 10 | therefore, be it | ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 12 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage school | ||||||
| 13 | districts throughout the State of Illinois to consider | ||||||
| 14 | providing age appropriate education intended to promote safety | ||||||
| 15 | in, on, and around bodies of water to reduce the risk of injury | ||||||
| 16 | or drowning; and be it further | ||||||
| 17 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 18 | delivered to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and | ||||||
| 19 | the Every Child a Swimmer (ECAS) program. | ||||||