Playgrounds
The House Health Committee passed S 1030, which I wrote about this weekend:
There are 748 after-school programs operating on public school campuses throughout the state. Of those, 280 have restrictions placed on their playgrounds by the Division of Child Development.Problems found in other areas around the state include 8-to-10-foot drops with little or no surfacing to absorb falls, broken swings, rusty nails and “entrapments.”
In each of those cases, if the school deems the gear safe, children can play on it during the day.
Click here for the whole story.
The question arises because public schools and the folks who license after school programs have different standards for what constitutes "safe" playground equipment. One solution would be to require schools to get their equipment up to the division's standards. Instead, the measure says that whatever the faults with the playground equipment, it won't keep an after school programs from getting licensed.
The bill was amended by the House Health Committee to say that the fact the playgrounds might not be up to snuff can be noted on the Division of Child Development rating - a sort of caveat to alert parents.
It next goes to the Education Committee.
Comments (1)
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The change is a mistake. Parents will not read any "caveat". The state should have gone with the higher standard of the Division of Child Development. We have to start valuing our children more than protecting old equipment.
Posted on May 26, 2009 1:58 PM