The “Land of 10,000 Lakes” Could be the First State to Mandate Swimming in Schools

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In June 2015, Minnesota lawmakers passed a measure requiring the state to examine and develop statewide swimming resources for kids.  The commissioner of education must establish a working group of stakeholders to assess statewide access to swimming resources and provide recommendations “on the curriculum, resources, personnel, and other costs needed to make swimming instruction available in all Minnesota public schools for children beginning at an early age” by February 2016.

The ultimate goal is to pass a mandate requiring swimming for all Minnesota children; however, the state must first address drastic inequalities in access to pools.  For example, there is one pool for every 28,000 people in St. Paul (9.6% Latino and 15.7% African American) compared to one pool for every 138,000 people in Minneapolis (10.5% Latino and 18.6% African American).

Hannah Lieder, the chief swimming equality advocate in Minneapolis, says that lack of access to swimming facilities is a civil rights issues, which stems from decades of social and structural inequalities.  Today, 70% of African American and 60% of Latino children cannot swim, which limits them from participating in numerous other water activities.  Inequalities in access to swimming lead to disparities in drowning rates and are associated with disparities in health outcomes and academic achievement.

Considering that 71% of the earth is water, a mandate requiring swimming for all public school children could have substantial health and academic benefits for minority children, especially children in “The Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Click here to read about the state measure to examine statewide swimming resources.

Click here to read the bill.

This story was updated February 23, 2016.