How to help your school district meet the state's new biking and walking education requirement
Active Trans is excited to announce the passage of the Bike Walk Education in Schools Act (HB 4799). The bill passed both Houses with bipartisan majorities and Gov. Rauner signed it into law on August 24th.
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The bill amends the school code so that every K-8 public school in Illinois is required to provide instruction, study and discussion of effective methods for the prevention and avoidance of traffic injuries related to walking and bicycling.
The bill does not specify how districts provide this instruction and directs school boards to adopt a policy that’s appropriate for their schools.
There are many free resources available to help districts meet this new requirement. Active Trans worked with the Illinois Association of School Boards to compile a resource list and share it directly with school districts.
Options range from online quizzes and videos to guide books with a checklist of teaching points and lesson plans. More ambitious programs include on-bike education at schools.
Click here to download the resource list and share it with a school board in your area. Active Trans is working with advocates across the region to share these resources with their local school board and encourage them to get to work on meeting the new requirement.
The resource list includes the following three easy-to-use lesson guides developed by Active Trans and available for download.
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety: 9 Lessons for the Classroom
- Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety: 10-minute Lessons for PE Class
- Kids on Wheels Manual: a guide for conducting on-bike trainings
Plus, here's a comic book called Power Pedal that Active Trans created. It teaches kids about bike safety in an engaging way.
Contact [email protected] if you have any questions. If your district is already meeting this requirement, we would love to hear from you about your approach so we can share it with interested districts across the state.
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Learn how active transportation benefits physical health and academic performance, explore ways to advocate for transportation changes in your community and learn strategies for enhancing bike and pedestrian skills and safety.