SAUSD students and parents, as well as teachers and administrators are in an uproar over an ill-advised cost-cutting measure adapted by the SAUSD, apparently on the sly.
As of this year, SAUSD schools are not stocking extra “class sets” of textbooks in the classrooms. Instead students are now required to carry their textbooks to and from school everyday without the opportunity of leaving them in lockers nor in the classroom. The total weight of carrying some of these textbooks can exceed 25 pounds. These books can contain over 400 pages each and the health issues related to students carrying these textbooks are immense.
“Over 92% of children in the United States carry backpacks that are typically loaded with 10% to 22% of their body weight,” write the researchers. “Thirty-seven percent of children aged 11 to 14 years report back pain, the majority of whom attribute the pain to wearing a school backpack,” according to WebMD. Continue reading