BILL TO CUT SCHOOLKIDS' LOAD LAWMAKERS SEEK WEIGHT LIMIT ON TEXTBOOKS.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

Worried about the health risks of schoolchildren toting overloaded backpacks, three lawmakers introduced a bill Monday that would set maximum weight standards for textbooks used in elementary and secondary schools.

State Sen. Dario Frommer, D-Glendale, Assemblymen Robert Pacheco, R-City of Industry, and Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, introduced AB 2532, which would require the state Board of Education to adopt a plan that provides other solutions.

``My 7-year-old-daughter's backpack weighs almost as much as she does,'' Pacheco said. ``She can hardly lift it, much less carry it all day.''

The legislators said the bill is necessary. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, injuries related to book bags and back carriers result in 4,928 emergency room visits a year.

In recent years, many schools have eliminated lockers, concerned not only about hidden drugs and weapons, but also because of their high maintenance costs. They are easy to break into, resulting in stolen books and property, said Merle Price, deputy superintendent of instruction for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

And while Price praised the bill's goals, he also questioned how it would be funded.

In addition to setting maximum weight limits, the bill would ask the state board to adopt a plan that recommends other solutions, including building lockers out of clear materials, providing class materials on CD- ROMs, and providing two sets of textbooks so students can leave one set at home.

Price said schools now are hard-pressed to make sure students have even one set of textbooks, let alone two. And it's one thing to make sure students have computer access while at school, but not all students have access to a computer at home.

One possible solution is to find vendors who sell backpacks on wheels, and then make those backpacks available to students, in some cases, at a reduced cost, Price said.

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.

``Over the long haul, children are developing significant problems,'' said Patti Evans, head of the California Physical Therapists Association. Often, she sees abnormal growth patterns in children's collar bones caused by carrying too much weight on their shoulders and backs.

The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends that children carry no more than 15 percent of their body weight. For a 70-pound child, that would be 10.5 pounds. According to the bill, elementary and secondary students are carrying backpacks weighing as much as 40 pounds.

But a local orthopedic surgeon who has researched the issue said Monday there is no evidence of long-term health problems, either mechanical or structural, stemming from children carrying heavy backpacks.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.