First, Frederic Ndereimana, 19, was found unconscious in Fargo South High School’s pool following a physical education class on February 18 and died the following weekend. Then 12-year-old Abdullahi Charif was pulled from St. Louis Park Middle School’s pool on February 27 and died two days later.
In light of these two incidents, Minnesota and North Dakota school districts are re-evaluating their swimming pool protocols.
Currently, Fargo has no written policies for water safety, according to the blog BringMeTheNews. Meanwhile, Minnesota schools have widely varying pool safety policies. The Minnesota Department of Education does not require physical education teachers to be certified lifeguards. However, most Minnesota schools require either a lifeguard or a certified water safety instructor to be on duty when students are swimming.
Other schools, like East Detroit High School in Michigan, recently also have gained public attention for their pool policies that may have led to a student drowning. Read More
