[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5611 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5611
To promote State requirements for local educational agencies and public
elementary and secondary schools relating to the prevention and
treatment of concussions suffered by students.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 15, 2020
Mr. DeSaulnier (for himself and Mr. Stauber) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote State requirements for local educational agencies and public
elementary and secondary schools relating to the prevention and
treatment of concussions suffered by students.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Student Athletes From
Concussions Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS.
Part F of title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Subpart 6--State Requirements for the Prevention and Treatment of
Concussions
``SEC. 8581. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS.
``(a) In General.--Beginning fiscal year 2021, as a condition of
receiving funds under this Act for a fiscal year, a State shall, not
later than July 1 of the preceding fiscal year, certify to the
Secretary in accordance with subsection (b) that the State has in
effect and is enforcing a law or regulation that, at a minimum,
establishes the following requirements:
``(1) Local educational agency concussion safety and
management plan.--Each local educational agency in the State
(including each charter school that is considered a local
educational agency under State law), in consultation with
members of the community in which the local educational agency
is located, shall develop and implement a standard plan for
concussion safety and management for public schools served by
the local educational agency that includes--
``(A) the education of students, parents, and
school personnel about concussions, including--
``(i) the training of school personnel on
evidence-based concussion safety and
management, including on prevention,
recognition, risk, academic consequences, and
response for both initial and any subsequent
concussions; and
``(ii) using, maintaining, and
disseminating to students and parents release
forms, treatment plans, observation,
monitoring, and reporting forms, recordkeeping
forms, and post-injury and prevention fact
sheets about concussions;
``(B) supports for each student recovering from a
concussion, including--
``(i) guiding the student in resuming
participation in school-sponsored athletic
activities and academic activities with the
help of a multidisciplinary concussion
management team, which shall include--
``(I) a health care professional,
the parents of such student, and other
relevant school personnel; and
``(II) an individual who is
assigned by the public school in which
the student is enrolled to oversee and
manage the recovery of the student;
``(ii) providing appropriate academic
accommodations aimed at progressively
reintroducing cognitive demands on such a
student; and
``(iii) if the student's symptoms of
concussion persist for a substantial period of
time--
``(I) evaluating the student in
accordance with section 614 of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (20 U.S.C. 1414) to determine
whether the student is eligible for
services under part B of such Act (20
U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); or
``(II) evaluating whether the
student is eligible for services under
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and
``(C) best practices designed to ensure, with
respect to concussions, the uniformity of safety
standards, treatment, and management, including--
``(i) disseminating information on
concussion safety and management to the public;
and
``(ii) applying best practice and uniform
standards for concussion safety and management
to all students enrolled in the public schools
served by the local educational agency.
``(2) Posting of information on concussions.--Each public
school in the State shall post on school grounds, in a manner
that is visible to students and school personnel, and make
publicly available on the school website, information on
concussions that--
``(A) is based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence
or consensus (such as information made available by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention);
``(B) shall include--
``(i) the risks posed by sustaining a
concussion or multiple concussions;
``(ii) the actions a student should take in
response to sustaining a concussion, including
the notification of school personnel; and
``(iii) the signs and symptoms of a
concussion; and
``(C) may include--
``(i) the definition of a concussion under
section 8582(1);
``(ii) the means available to the student
to reduce the incidence or recurrence of a
concussion; and
``(iii) the effects of a concussion on
academic learning and performance.
``(3) Response to a concussion.--If any school personnel of
a public school in the State suspect that a student has
sustained a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic
activity or other school-sponsored activity--
``(A) the student shall be--
``(i) immediately removed from
participation in such activity; and
``(ii) prohibited from resuming
participation in school-sponsored athletic
activities--
``(I) on the day the student
sustained the concussion; and
``(II) until the day the student is
capable of resuming such participation,
according to the student's written
release, as described in paragraph (4);
``(B) the school personnel shall report to the
concussion management team--
``(i) that the student may have sustained a
concussion; and
``(ii) all available information with
respect to the student's injury; and
``(C) the concussion management team shall confirm
and report to the parents of the student--
``(i) the type of injury, and the date and
time of the injury, suffered by the student;
and
``(ii) any actions that have been taken to
treat the student.
``(4) Return to athletics.--If a student enrolled in a
public school in the State sustains a concussion, before the
student resumes participation in school-sponsored athletic
activities, the relevant school personnel shall receive a
written release from a health care professional, that--
``(A) may require the student to follow a plan
designed to aid the student in recovering and resuming
participation in such activities in a manner that--
``(i) is coordinated, as appropriate, with
periods of cognitive and physical rest while
symptoms of a concussion persist; and
``(ii) reintroduces cognitive and physical
demands on the student on a progressive basis
so long as such increases in exertion do not
cause the reemergence or worsening of symptoms
of a concussion; and
``(B) states that the student is capable of
resuming participation in such activities once the
student is asymptomatic.
``(5) Return to academics.--If a student enrolled in a
public school in the State has sustained a concussion, the
concussion management team (as described under paragraph
(1)(B)(i)) of the school shall consult with and make
recommendations to relevant school personnel and the student to
ensure that the student is receiving the appropriate academic
supports, including--
``(A) providing for periods of cognitive rest over
the course of the school day;
``(B) providing modified academic assignments;
``(C) allowing for gradual reintroduction to
cognitive demands; and
``(D) other appropriate academic accommodations or
adjustments.
``(b) Certification Requirement.--The certification required under
subsection (a) shall be in writing and include a description of the law
or regulation that meets the requirements of subsection (a).
``SEC. 8582. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subpart:
``(1) Concussion.--The term `concussion' means a type of
mild traumatic brain injury that--
``(A) is caused by a blow, jolt, or motion to the
head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly in
the skull;
``(B) disrupts normal brain functioning and alters
the physiological state of the individual, causing the
individual to experience--
``(i) any period of observed or self-
reported--
``(I) transient confusion,
disorientation, or altered
consciousness;
``(II) dysfunction of memory around
the time of injury; or
``(III) disruptions in gait or
balance; and
``(ii) symptoms that may include--
``(I) physical symptoms, such as
headache, fatigue, or dizziness;
``(II) cognitive symptoms, such as
memory disturbance or slowed thinking;
``(III) emotional symptoms, such as
irritability or sadness; or
``(IV) difficulty sleeping; and
``(C) occurs--
``(i) with or without the loss of
consciousness; and
``(ii) during participation--
``(I) in a school-sponsored
athletic activity; or
``(II) in any other activity
without regard to whether the activity
takes place on school property or
during the school day.
``(2) Health care professional.--The term `health care
professional' means an individual--
``(A) who has been educated in diagnosis and
management of concussion in a pediatric population;
``(B) is registered, licensed, nationally
certified, or otherwise statutorily recognized by the
State to provide such diagnosis and management; and
``(C) whose scope of practice and experience
includes the diagnosis and management of traumatic
brain injury among a pediatric population.
``(3) Public school.--The term `public school' means a
public elementary school or public secondary school.
``(4) School personnel.--The term `school personnel'
includes teachers, principals, administrators, counselors,
social workers, psychologists, nurses, librarians, coaches and
athletic trainers, and other support staff who are employed by
a school or who perform services for the school on a
contractual basis.
``(5) School-sponsored athletic activity.--The term
`school-sponsored athletic activity' means--
``(A) any physical education class or program of a
public school;
``(B) any athletic activity authorized by a public
school that takes place during the school day on the
school's property;
``(C) any activity of an extra-curricular sports
team, club, or league organized by a public school; and
``(D) any recess activity of a public school.''.
SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating
to section 8574 the following:
``subpart 6--state requirements for the prevention and treatment of
concussions
``Sec. 8581. Minimum State requirements.
``Sec. 8582. Definitions.''.
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