Newsom signs water safety bill named for Fresno student who drowned days before graduation

Family, school leaders and elected officials gathered to honor Neng Thao, a former Fresno high school valedictorian student, who drowned before graduating. His story – and memory – will now live on across California as students and families access water safety resources.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill authored by State Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, known as the Neng Thao Drowning Prevention Bill, on Oct. 7. Starting next school year, this piece of legislation authorizes specified organizations to provide informational materials and guidance on accessing affordable swim lessons locally at public elementary schools statewide.

“We hope that this bill will help save the lives of our young people who still have such a long way to go and a promising future ahead of them,” said Touyee Thao, one of Neng Thao’s older brothers. “And help prevent other families from experiencing the tragic loss and hardship that our family endured.”

“If Neng were here today, he would have fought to support this bill,” he said.

Neng Thao was a senior at Edison High School. He was 18 when he drowned in the San Joaquin River in northwest Fresno during a family celebration day outdoors in May 2017. He would have graduated as a valedictorian with a 4.21 GPA two weeks after his death and had been accepted to UC Berkeley.

Thao’s parents returned to their son’s former school on Friday afternoon, to honor his memory and celebrate the passing of the bill carrying his name.

Chong Vang and Cheryia Thao, Thao’s mother and father, said in Hmong their hearts still hurt and it was hard to stand at Edison High. They migrated to the United States with their eight older children, had two more stateside and Neng Thao was the youngest of ten.

Vang felt his son’s presence was at Edison, and he would have been proud of the bill since it is “extremely important.” She felt that her son’s passing, while it’s been really hard, also created a lot of awareness and the bill will save many lives, said Deputy Superintendent Misty Her, who was translating for Vang and Thao.

“She does not want any other family members to experience what they had to go through,” Her translated for Vang, “and this will be a good thing for our entire community.”

Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula said he had the privilege of knowing Neng Thao and how much of a leader he was as a member of Fresno City Council’s youth leaders and many other roles across the city.

“Unfortunately, drowning happens for too many of our families,” Arambula said. “The benefit of us passing this bill in Neng’s honor is that we’ll be able to better help those in the future to be able to prevent what occurred in the past.”

Bob Nelson, Fresno Unified’s Superintendent, said he knew Neng Thao personally and was his and several of Thao’s older siblings’ principal at Thomas Elementary.

Nelson said the Neng Thao Drowning Prevention Bill is a “fantastic and meaningful way” to honor Thao. He remembered his former student as an incredible young man, who was proud of being Hmong and was involved in ensuring the Fresno community’s well-being. As a student, Thao wrote a book in Hmong about his mother’s immigration experience, Nelson said, and the book sales proceeds benefit the Neng Thao Memorial Scholarship.

“We still grieve him,” Nelson said, “but today is a celebration, today we have legislation to celebrate that we hope means fewer water tragedies that come to fruition.”

Drowning is a leading cause of injury-related deaths among children under the age of five in California, according to the state’s Department of Developmental Services.

The DDS looks out for “near-drowning incidents,” and provides Californians with informative resources on how to prevent these, too, because they can cause long-term damage and health issues

Victims of near-drowning accidents often experience disabilities for the remainder of their lives, the department states. Damage to a person’s central nervous system can contribute to varying levels of brain damage that can result in memory loss, seizures, learning disabilities and paralysis.

The DDS reports that survivors of near-drowning episodes may also experience a lifetime of multiple medical problems including respiratory, cardiovascular, and neuromuscular disorders.

The bill honoring Thao defines water safety as, “age-appropriate education intended to promote safety in, on, and around bodies of water,” to reduce the risk of injury or drowning at pools, spas, bathtubs and open bodies of water like lakes, rivers, canals, and the ocean.

For those wanting to access water safety resources now, the California Department of Water Resources created its two mascots – Albert the fish and Einstein the bird – and a series of materials on water safety for K-12 students focused on how to stay safe near and in water.

These informational resources, activity books, posters and brochures can be ordered for free online in Spanish or English at the DWR’s website, https://water.ca.gov/What-We-Do/Education/Water-Safety.