AHA Finds Success With Enacting Shared Use Policy in Arizona

Share On Social!

The American Heart Association (AHA) is happy to announce that its affiliates and volunteers in Arizona have succeeded with getting legislation passed to encourage schools to adopt shared use policies!

In 2012, a group of health leaders first began working with the state legislature to finds ways to create tools that would allow schools to share their facilities with the community, while protecting them from liability.

“We added language into the statute that would essentially make school grounds a public park when school was not in session,” said Nicole Olmstead, government relations director for the American Heart Association in Arizona, in an AHA press release.

In the testimony she provided to the statehouse during the 2014 legislature, Olmstead said: “Safe places for children and adults to be physically active are an important piece of the fight against the obesity epidemic. While we realize that requiring schools to open their grounds is not realistic, nor reasonable, removing one of the primary barriers to opening up school grounds, especially those that are paid for through taxpayer dollars and property taxes, is an important first step.”

According to Olmstead, community playgrounds, such as those created through shared use agreements, are central to providing children with nearby, safe places to play and many schools have already begun to recognize this.

In South Phoenix, county health officials are already seeking funds to help open up school grounds to the community.

Now, the next step is to empower local schools in less affluent areas to increase opportunities for physical activity and healthier school snacks among students.

Read the full AHA Voices for Healthy Kids story here.