SF3176

Purpose of the Bill

This bill aims to enhance students' health education by mandating the inclusion of water safety instruction in the health curriculum of Minnesota schools. The goal is to reduce the risk of drowning among students.

Main Provisions

• The bill amends the existing Minnesota education statutes to explicitly require culturally responsive and age-appropriate water safety instruction within health curricula.
• Schools with access to swimming pools must provide at least eight weeks of swim instruction specifically for all third-grade students.
• The swim instruction should be delivered by trained staff who understand and address the barriers specific students might face in learning to swim, such as financial barriers or fear of swimming.
• Parents or guardians have the option to exempt their child from swim instruction under specific conditions, such as physical inability or previous water-related trauma.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• The existing requirement for health education to include various topics is expanded to specifically mandate water safety instruction. This requirement adds a new focus on drowning prevention.
• For schools with access to a swimming pool, there is a new requirement to include practical swimming lessons as part of third-grade education.
• The bill mandates professional development for staff to create inclusive swimming curricula that address factors like economic challenges and cultural barriers.

Relevant Terms

water safety, health curriculum, swim instruction, drowning prevention, culturally responsive education, education standards, barriers to swimming, swimming lessons.