Calif., N.J. weigh options to lighten students' backpacks

Children's back injuries spur lawmakers' actions

SACRAMENTO, Califonria (AP) -- Concerned that students who lug heavy backpacks will develop spinal problems, lawmakers in two states may go further than any others to try to reduce excess pounds.

New Jersey lawmakers are weighing a bill that proposes setting maximum weight standards for textbooks, while a California measure would require school districts to figure out ways to reduce the weight.

Other states have done studies of backpack weight and children's back pain, but none have passed legislation requiring schools to do something about it.

The moves come as concerns about drugs and guns possibly hidden in student lockers have led many schools to remove lockers, forcing children to lug their textbooks around all day.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, backpack-related injuries send about 5,000 students a year to emergency rooms nationwide.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children carry no more than 10 percent to 20 percent of their own body weight and that backpacks should typically weigh less than 15 pounds.

But a study by a Simmons College professor in Boston recently found that 55 percent of fifth- through eighth-graders studied were carrying more than 15 percent of their body weight on their back.

Cally Weise, an eighth-grader at Westbourough Middle School in South San Francisco, said she almost fell down the stairs at her school because her backpack weighs so much. Weise, who weighs 92 pounds, carries a 21-pound backpack and a 14-pound saxophone case.

"I see smaller kids at school and they walk bent over," she said during a recent news conference at California's Capitol. "When I run, it hurts my back."

Some school districts have started to tackle the problem by coordinating homework assignments to lessen the load or by purchasing two sets of textbooks for their students -- one set to leave at home, and one set to use in class.

The bill in front of California's Senate would require school boards to develop and distribute a voluntary survey to school districts to find creative, cost-effective options to reduce excess backpack weight.

The California Medical Association supports the bill, a spokeswoman said, because childhood is a key time for spinal growth, which could be altered by heavy backpacks.

Assemblyman Rod Pacheco said some textbook companies oppose his bill, but that he is "not trying to reduce the educational advancement of children."

In New Jersey, Assemblyman Peter Barnes' proposal would direct the state Board of Education to set and enforce weight standards for elementary and secondary textbooks.

"I was in the Army and these kids are carrying bigger backpacks than what we used to carry," said Barnes. "These kids are hunched over and are afraid to stand up straight because they might fall over."

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