In response to drownings, NJ lawmaker introduces water safety bills

🌊 There have been several drownings in NJ this summer

🌊 Drownings prompted one NJ lawmaker to take action

🌊 A package of water safety bills have been introduced

New legislation that was introduced in Trenton aims at educating families on the risks of drowning and promoting water safety awareness for children.

Assemblywoman Alixon Collazos-Gill, D-Essex, is the sponsor behind a package of five water safety bills.

She said water safety is very important to her, and it hit home for her when someone close to her family lost their 8-year-old son six years ago in a drowning incident.

In addition to that personal loss, Collazos-Gill said there have been several drownings in New Jersey this past summer alone, as well as in recent years, and something needed to be done.

So, she and her team did a lot of research to design a package of bills to address water safety among children in the state that targets families, schools, and hospitals in the state.

Bill A3578

The first bill Collazos-Gill introduced would require swimming pools to offer deep water swimming tests to children 12 years and younger upon request. This is the bill that started the conversation, she said.

Under the legislation, if a child is going to swim in a public swimming pool in New Jersey, that facility should provide a deep-water swimming test to offer some peace of mind. If the child does not pass it, they either have to be with their parent or guardian in the shallow end of the pool or have some lessons to pass the test to swim in the deep end, Collazos-Gill explained.

When this bill was first introduced, it then led to conversations with other organizations, specifically Every Child A Swimmer, a Florida-based organization that focuses on water safety education and swimming lessons for children, she said. This organization gave Collazos-Gill other information about other types of measures happening around the country pertaining to child water safety.

Bill A4753

The second piece of legislation introduced by Collazos-Gill requires hospitals and birthing facilities in New Jersey to request that new parents watch water safety videos prior to a newborn’s discharge.

The video would educate viewers on the dangers of drowning, the importance of learning to swim, and the need for CPR training. The idea is to make sure parents are aware of these kinds of accidents.

Bill A4754

The third bill that was introduced would prohibit businesses from selling or manufacturing certain flotation devices not approved by the U.S. Coast Guard. These flotation devices are better known as “arm floaties” that children are commonly seen wearing at pools, lakes, and beaches across New Jersey and elsewhere.

Other personal flotation devices include but not limited to, a lifejacket, puddle jumper, and water wings designed for recreational swimming and to be worn or attached to the body of a person who is less than 15 years old.

“But we found out that they are not really safe because the kid’s head can still go underwater. So, they are not safe. They are not approved by the United States Coast Guard. So, we want to prevent them from being sold in New Jersey,” Collazos-Gill said.

Bill A4762

This fourth bill would designate May of each year as Water Safety Month in New Jersey. May is already a Water Safety Month elsewhere, but this bill would make May a Water Safety Month in the state, she said.

The bill would encourage both the New Jersey Departments of Health and Education to provide resources and educate young children on the importance of water safety as the summer approaches, Collazos-Gill said.

School districts would hold water safety presentations and educational activities for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Bill A4763

The fifth and final bill introduced by Assemblywoman Collazos-Gill would require the New Jersey Department of Education to develop and distribute an educational fact sheet explaining how parents can reduce a child’s risk of injury and drowning.

It requires school districts to provide information to parents and guardians on swimming lessons for younger-aged children at a free or reduced cost, she said.

She hopes the New Jersey State Legislature will approve all five bills.

Final Thoughts

Swimming is a life-saving skill, Collazos-Gill said.

“We need to make sure that children and families are aware of the hazards around that, but there are preventative measures that we can take. These deaths that have happened for the most part are preventable if we do the education and put in the effort. Schools can do their educational piece, hospitals can do the same, and this is the aim of this legislation,” Collazos-Gill said.

Report a correction 👈 | 👉 Contact our newsroom