Concussion Legislation

Concussions have gained considerable notoriety recently on all levels of sport. Consequently, the spotlight has been turned to the need for concussion recognition education among parents, athletes, coaches, athletic trainers and physicians. There are a number of states as well as the federal government that have passed or proposed legislation detailing steps that school districts must implement. As of December, 2010 the list is

• New Jersey (Assembly Bill No. 2743 and Assembly Resolution No. 85/Senate Resolution No. 74
• Pennsylvania (House Bill No. 2728 and House Bill No. 2060)
• United States (House Resolution No. 1347/Senate Bill No. 2840)
• Connecticut (Public Act No. 10-62)
• California (Assembly Bill No. 533 and Assembly Bill No. 1646)
• Maine
• Massachusetts (Senate Bill No. 796)
• Missouri (House Bill No. 1548)
• Oregon (Senate Bill No. 348)
• Rhode Island (House Bill No.7036)
• Suffolk County, New York (No. 1174)
• Texas (No. 4627)
• Washington (Senate No. 1824)

In the proposed New Jersey legislation, the spotlight is on education. The New Jersey Department of Education will develop a fact sheet for school districts to distribute annually to coaches, athletes and parents. The state department will also develop a model concussion policy for school districts to use. In addition, the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners will require athletic trainers in both public and private high schools to obtain 24 hours in concussion education in order to renew their state license biannually. In order to return after a concussion, New Jersey’s proposed legislation will require written return from a physician trained in the evaluation & management of concussion.

Sports Health carries a Sports Concussion Tool Kit for Athletic Trainers and Coaches with contributions by noted authors Phil Hossler, ATC, Michael Collins, Ph.D., Chris Nowinski, John Leddy, M.D., Ron Savage, Ed.D., and Barry Willer, Ph.D. that contains many unique items to assist school districts in their preparation for safely dealing with student-athlete concussions.

For more information on concussion and legislative efforts go to:
http://www.kttc.com/Global/story.asp?S=13629611
http://www.scrippsnews.com/node/58285

Phil Hossler, ATC has been an athletic trainer on the scholastic, collegiate and Olympic levels. He has authored 4 books and numerous articles and served as an officer in state and regional athletic training associations for 20 years. He is a member of four halls of fame including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s.