ENCOURAGEMENT Goal: Explore strategies to promote walking and bicycling through the identification of safe routes, organizing events, rewarding participation, and educating adults. 1.
The DGF School District Wellness and Transportation Policies already include language that actively promotes walking and biking to and from school. This is better than most school districts. The Wellness Policy states that, “Safe bicycling and walking to and from school is promoted and encouraged.” The DGF Transportation Policy (an 18-page document mostly dedicated to busing students) only makes two brief statements regarding walking and biking. It states that, “Parents/Guardians are responsible to … support safe riding and walking practices and recognize that students are responsible for their actions,” and that, “The school district may provide student safety education for bicycling and pedestrian safety for students in grades K through 5.” DGF School District may wish to review its policy language to see if meets current best practices. A review of the DGF School District Transportation, Wellness, and Health and Safety Policies (Appendices G, H, I) found the above references to walking or biking to and from school. It is encouraging to see that the DGF School District has some specific language that supports and actively promotes walking and bicycling to and from school for students. This is better than most school districts and DGF should be commended. That said, there is always room for improvement and the DGF School District may wish to review its policy language to see if it meets current best practices. A sample Wellness policy amendment specific to Minnesota and SRTS was produced by the Public Health Law Center at the William Mitchell College of Law and can be found in Appendix E. An additional policy resource specific to Minnesota is the Minnesota SRTS Model Policies Tip Sheet which can be found in Appendix F. Finally, the SRTS National Partnership, in cooperation with ChangeLab Solutions (a multi-disciplinary, multi-government agency policy partnership), has developed an on-line SRTS District Policy Workbook. This resource is a comprehensive SRTS policy guide covering everything from general policies supporting SRTS to more advanced policies like “No Idling Policies” and “School Siting Policies.” This resource is best accessed on-line and can be found at: http://www.changelabsolutions.org/safe-routes/welcome. Also look for possible improved policies coming out of the MnDOT SRTS Office and/or the Minnesota Department of Education in the near future.
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