Why Water Safety Lessons Should Be Required in School
Implementing mandatory water safety education and swim tests in public schools and higher education could be the key to reducing alarming drowning rates in the U.S.
Drowning deaths in the U.S. are on the rise, with more than 4,500 people dying annually between 2020 and 2022, according to the CDC. Tragically, children account for about a quarter of these deaths, and BIPOC children are drowning at higher rates than their white peers. Despite these alarming statistics, water safety is almost completely absent from school health and physical education curricula, and most colleges no longer require swim tests as a graduation requirement.
In 1977, “42 percent of [universities] had some sort of swimming requirement, according to Larry Hensley, a University of Northern Iowa professor… But by 1982, that figure had plummeted to 8 percent. Subsequent surveys no longer bothered to ask about swimming requirements.” (Source: NBC News) This is especially concerning when we know that formal swim lessons can reduce drowning risk by about 88%.
At The ZAC Foundation, we believe state-level reform is essential to combat these preventable drownings. Water safety instruction in schools can overcome many barriers that families face, including the lack of access to pools, the cost of lessons, and the challenge of finding available programs. Parents’ anxiety around water is also a critical factor: if a parent cannot swim, their child has only a 19% chance of learning to swim, according to USA Swimming. Schools can provide early intervention, ensuring equitable access to the knowledge and skills children need to stay safe around water. Implementing these programs statewide could save thousands of lives.
While legislators in Michigan and New Jersey have proposed water safety curriculum requirements, and Florida’s new “Every Child a Swimmer” law addresses related issues, Louisiana is currently the only state that mandates water safety education in schools. This leaves most school districts to handle the issue independently, even though drowning is a leading cause of death among children nationwide.
It’s time for organized action. States have a responsibility to teach basic water safety skills and give children the means to survive. We urge everyone to contact your state officials and demand that water safety become a foundational part of every child’s education.
Together, we can protect our children from preventable tragedies.
Additional reading:
https://www.watersafetyusa.org/nwsap.html
https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/drowning-prevention-and-water-safety
https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/drowning/index.html
https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2022/12/if-you-cant-swim-chances-are-your-child-cant-either
Photo courtesy of Debbie Troy