House Resolution 116

PAG LIN

  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. ___
  1  2                BY  GREIMANN and FREEMAN
  1  3 A Resolution promoting a family and consumer sciences
  1  4    high school graduation requirement including
  1  5    parenting and life management skills.
  1  6    WHEREAS, child abuse and child neglect are serious
  1  7 problems directly impacting society; and
  1  8    WHEREAS, research shows that most parents who abuse
  1  9 or neglect their children were themselves abused or
  1 10 neglected as children, and this cycle of child abuse
  1 11 and neglect can be broken only through teaching new,
  1 12 more positive parenting skills to individuals before
  1 13 they become parents; and
  1 14    WHEREAS, parents are the first and primary teachers
  1 15 of their children, and when the parents' family
  1 16 experiences include abusive, neglectful behaviors, the
  1 17 opportunity to learn parenting skills must be expanded
  1 18 beyond these family experiences to the schools, where
  1 19 a knowledge base of effective parenting and life
  1 20 management skills can be taught; and
  1 21    WHEREAS, serious commitment and meaningful efforts
  1 22 are necessary to prevent the occurrence of child abuse
  1 23 and neglect in Iowa through the encouragement of
  1 24 parenting classes for all senior high school students;
  1 25 and
  1 26    WHEREAS, effective family and consumer sciences
  1 27 education programs already exist statewide in Iowa
  1 28 schools but are not required for all students; and
  1 29    WHEREAS, family and consumer sciences programs
  1 30 include instruction regarding parenting, parenting
  2  1 roles and responsibilities, the costs of raising a
  2  2 child, creating nurturing and protective environments
  2  3 for children, child development, child care skills,
  2  4 interpersonal skills, problem=solving and decision=
  2  5 making skills, coping with the stress of raising
  2  6 children, positive discipline and conflict resolution
  2  7 strategies, and other life management skills that
  2  8 contribute to a higher quality of life; NOW THEREFORE,
  2  9    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  2 10 That the House of Representatives urges all local
  2 11 boards of education to support and encourage the
  2 12 development, inclusion, and expansion of parenting and
  2 13 life management skills curricula in the family and
  2 14 consumer sciences programs of all high schools
  2 15 throughout Iowa; and
  2 16    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
  2 17 Representatives acknowledges and commends the
  2 18 progressive local boards of education in Iowa that
  2 19 currently have a family and consumer sciences
  2 20 graduation requirement in parenting and life
  2 21 management skills; and
  2 22    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the House of
  2 23 Representatives urges all local boards of education
  2 24 without a family and consumer sciences requirement to
  2 25 give priority to the addition of a specific family and
  2 26 consumer sciences high school graduation requirement
  2 27 in parenting and life management skills for all
  2 28 students in their districts; and
  2 29    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this
  2 30 Resolution be sent to the Department of Education for
  3  1 distribution to the superintendents of Iowa's school
  3  2 districts.
  3  3 LSB 5803HH 80
  3  4 kh/pj/5