A bill by Assemblyman Bill Dodd, D-Solano, to protect students and teachers during earthquakes took an important step forward, receiving unanimous bipartisan support from the Assembly Education Committee. Dodd’s bill would require school districts in California to ensure that the contents of their classroom, like heavy bookshelves or hanging light fixtures, comply with state earthquake safety guidelines.

“Earthquakes are a part of life in California and we cannot wait for tragedy to strike to take common sense precautions to ensure our children and teachers are as safe as possible,” Dodd said. “I’m thankful to have the unanimous support of the Assembly Education Committee and look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature to advance classroom earthquake safety.”

The state of California has already invested time and resources into creating guidelines for securing the contents of classrooms in the event of an earthquake. However, there is currently nothing in state law that requires school districts to adhere to the established guidelines produced by the Division of the State Architects. Inspections of Napa schools following the South Napa Earthquake revealed significant damage inside classrooms, totaling millions of dollars. These concerning results have been identified following other serious earthquakes throughout the state. The shifting contents and blocked exists could have been life-threatening had the earthquake occurred during school hours.

via: The Reporter