House Democrats Reintroduce Legislation to Protect Student Athletes from Concussions
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democratic lawmakers today introduced legislation to strengthen k-12 schools’ procedures for preventing, detecting, and treating student-athletes who suffer concussions while competing in sports. The Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act would, for the first time, set minimum safety standards for concussion management in public schools across the country with plans that educate students, parents and school personnel about how to recognize and respond to concussions.
“Concussions are an unfortunate reality of competitive sports from the sandlot to the Super Bowl,” said Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY), original sponsor of the bill. “This legislation addresses the clear need for nationwide standards and new tools for students, coaches, and teachers on concussion prevention, management, and recovery.”
“We’ve come to learn more about the grave, long-term dangers of concussions, and young people are at the greatest risk for sports-related concussions because their developing brains are more susceptible to injury. Unfortunately, these serious injuries often go ignored or undiagnosed. We need to make sure we are doing all we can to protect youth athletes both on and off the field,” said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, original co-sponsor of the bill. “With the tools to properly manage concussions and implement safety precautions, parents, coaches and students can change the culture of school sports for the better and keep our students safe while competing and thriving in the classroom.”
This legislation has garnered broad support from groups representing teachers and parents, medicine, sports medicine and athletic organizations. These supporters include the National Football League – Players’ Association, American Federation of Teachers, American Academy of Neurology, National Athletic Trainers Association, and National Council of Youth Sports, among others.
In a letter, the Brain Inujury Association of America wrote that it “supports the ‘Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2013.’ This bill is a critical move forward in meeting the needs of the estimated 3.8 million people who sustain sports and recreational concussions each year.”
The legislation will raise awareness of the danger of concussions among student athletes by directing states to develop concussion safety guidelines for public school districts that include posting educational information on school grounds and school websites about concussion symptoms, risks and recommended responses for student athletes, parents, coaches and school officials.
The bill also institutes a “when in doubt, sit them out” policy that requires students suspected of sustaining a concussion to end their participation in the athletic event for the remainder of the day, be evaluated by a health care professional, and have the parents notified. It also provides students recovering from concussions have a variety of supports that they need as they return to athletic and academic activities in school.
A version of this legislation originally passed the House in 2009. The bill is similar to legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate earlier this year by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).
According to recent research, approximately 1.6-3.8 million sports and recreation-related TBIs occur in the United States each year and the National Federation of State High School Associations estimates that about 140,000 students playing high school sports suffer concussions every year though many go unreported.
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