Sept. 3, 2010
Cabell County Schools to Reverse Swing Removal Plan
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Cabell County Schools is announcing today that it has halted its planned removal of swings. After consulting with the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Facilities, the district has discovered that, according to section 205 of West Virginia Board of Education Policy 6200, swings are required at its elementary schools.
The policy states:
“All schools housing early childhood education programs contain an adequate blacktopped play area and a field game area large enough to accommodate physical education activities. All centers housing kindergarten programs contain a segregated blacktopped area and a large grassy area with climbing equipment and swings. The playground may be segregated by either time or space allocation. The playground must meet the standards of the Handbook of Playground Safety and be ADA compliant. All middle, junior high, and high school sites contain a blacktopped play area with a minimum size of 4800 ft2 and a field game area, space and/or facilities large enough to accommodate physical education activities such as soccer, touch football, softball, tennis, and track.”
All elementary schools in Cabell County offer Kindergarten programs, therefore the swings must remain.
“We are taking immediate action to make sure we are in compliance with this policy,” says William A. Smith, Superintendent of Cabell County Schools. “Even though we have found the swings must remain at our schools, the issue of unlimited liability in legal actions against school systems statewide still exists. I believe our experience has shed a light on a question of law that must be addressed by our state’s legislative bodies. We still plan to meet with Senator Evan Jenkins and state Board of Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM) officials to see what can be done to limit exposure to frivolous lawsuits.”
While swings will remain, there are some standards established by the Handbook of Playground Safety which must be addressed including swing shape and form.
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Cabell County Schools to Reverse Swing Removal Plan
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
Cabell County Schools is announcing today that it has halted its planned removal of swings. After consulting with the West Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Facilities, the district has discovered that, according to section 205 of West Virginia Board of Education Policy 6200, swings are required at its elementary schools.
The policy states:
“All schools housing early childhood education programs contain an adequate blacktopped play area and a field game area large enough to accommodate physical education activities. All centers housing kindergarten programs contain a segregated blacktopped area and a large grassy area with climbing equipment and swings. The playground may be segregated by either time or space allocation. The playground must meet the standards of the Handbook of Playground Safety and be ADA compliant. All middle, junior high, and high school sites contain a blacktopped play area with a minimum size of 4800 ft2 and a field game area, space and/or facilities large enough to accommodate physical education activities such as soccer, touch football, softball, tennis, and track.”
All elementary schools in Cabell County offer Kindergarten programs, therefore the swings must remain.
“We are taking immediate action to make sure we are in compliance with this policy,” says William A. Smith, Superintendent of Cabell County Schools. “Even though we have found the swings must remain at our schools, the issue of unlimited liability in legal actions against school systems statewide still exists. I believe our experience has shed a light on a question of law that must be addressed by our state’s legislative bodies. We still plan to meet with Senator Evan Jenkins and state Board of Risk and Insurance Management (BRIM) officials to see what can be done to limit exposure to frivolous lawsuits.”
While swings will remain, there are some standards established by the Handbook of Playground Safety which must be addressed including swing shape and form.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
