House Bill 341

AN ACT RELATING TO YOUTH SPORTS CONCUSSIONS AND HEAD INJURIES; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO ESTABLISH CONCUSSION EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS; TO REQUIRE THE REMOVAL OF YOUTH ATHLETES FROM COMPETITION UPON SUSTAINING A CONCUSSION; TO PRESCRIBE THE REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST BE SATISFIED FOR A YOUTH ATHLETE TO RETURN TO PLAY AFTER SUSTAINING A CONCUSSION OR HEAD INJURY; TO REQUIRE FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF CONCUSSION INFORMATION BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) The Legislature finds and declares that concussions are one (1) of the most commonly reported injuries in children and adolescents who participate in sports and recreational activities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that as many as three million nine hundred thousand (3,900,000) sports-related and recreation-related concussions occur in the United States each year. A concussion is caused by a blow or motion to the head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly inside the skull. The risk for long-term, chronic cognitive, physical and emotional symptoms associated with the development of post-concussion syndrome and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, as well as the risk for catastrophic injuries or even death, is significant when a concussion or head injury is not properly recognized, evaluated and managed.

(2) The Legislature further finds that continuing to play with a concussion or symptoms of head injury leaves the young athlete especially vulnerable to greater injury and even death. The Legislature recognizes that, despite having generally recognized return-to-play standards for concussions and head injury, some affected youth athletes are returned to play prematurely, resulting in actual or potential physical injury or death to youth athletes in the State of Mississippi.

(3) The Legislature of Mississippi further recognizes that it is in the best interest of the state to create a uniform education, training and return-to-play protocol to be followed throughout the state.

SECTION 2. As used in this act, the following words and phrases have the meanings ascribed in this section unless the content clearly indicates otherwise:

(a) "Health care provider" means a licensed physician, licensed nurse practitioner, licensed physician assistant or licensed psychologist who has received training in neuropsychology or concussion evaluation and management.

(b) "Public recreation facility" means a recreation facility owned or leased by the State of Mississippi or a political subdivision of the state.

(c) "Youth athletic activity" means an organized athletic activity in which the majority of the participants are seven (7) years of age or older and under nineteen (19) years of age and are engaging in an organized athletic game or competition against another team, club or entity or in practice or preparation for an organized game or competition against another team, club or entity. "Youth athletic activity" does not include college or university activities or an activity that is entered into for instructional purposes only, an athletic activity that is incidental to a nonathletic program or a coursework lesson.

SECTION 3. (1) The local school board or governing authority of each public and nonpublic elementary school, middle school, junior high school and high school shall:

(a) Before the beginning of each athletic season, provide pertinent information to all coaches, officials, volunteers, youth athletes and their parents or legal guardians which informs of the nature and risk of concussion and head injury, including the risks associated with continuing to play after a concussion or head injury;

(b) Require each coach, whether that coach is employed or is a volunteer, and every official of a youth athletic activity that involves interscholastic play to complete an annual concussion recognition education course that is in accordance with subsection (3) of this section; and

(c) Require, as a condition of participation in any athletic activities, that the youth athlete and the youth athlete's parents or legal guardian sign a concussion and head injury information sheet that provides adequate notice of the statutory requirements that must be satisfied in order for an athlete who has or is suspected to have suffered a concussion or head injury to return to play.

(2) Each private club or public recreation facility and each athletic league that sponsors youth athletic activities at a publicly operated field or park shall:

(b) Require each volunteer coach for a youth athletic activity and each coach with whom the club, facility or league directly contracts, formally engages or employs, who coaches a youth athletic activity and each official to complete an annual concussion recognition course that is in accordance with subsection (3) of this section; and

(c) Require, as a condition of participation in any athletic activities, that the youth athlete and the youth athlete's parents or legal guardian sign a concussion and head injury information sheet that includes, but is not limited to, adequate notice of the statutory requirements that must be satisfied in order for an athlete who has or is suspected to have sustained a concussion or head injury to return to play.

(3) (a) The concussion recognition education course required by this section must include the following information:

(i) How to recognize the signs of and symptoms of a concussion;

(ii) The necessity of obtaining proper medical attention for a person suspected of having sustained a concussion; and

(iii) The nature and risk of concussions, including the danger of continuing to play after sustaining a concussion and the proper method and statutory requirements that must be satisfied in order for a youth athlete to return to play in the athletic activity.

(b) (i) An organization or association of which a school or school district is a member may designate specific education courses as sufficient to meet the requirements of subsection (1) of this section.

(ii) Training material made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) entitled "Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports" and any amendments or updates thereto, or other training materials substantively and substantially similar to the CDC materials, along with dissemination of a copy of the statutory requirements that must be satisfied in order for a youth athlete who has or is suspected to have sustained a concussion to return to play in the athletic activity must be deemed to satisfy the education requirements established in this section.

SECTION 4. (1) A coach who is required to complete concussion recognition education under this act immediately must remove any youth athlete from a game, competition or practice immediately if any of the following occurs:

(a) The youth athlete reports any defined sign or symptom of a concussion;

(b) The coach, athletic trainer or official determines that the youth athlete exhibits any defined sign or symptom of a concussion or suspects that a youth athlete has sustained a concussion following an observed or suspected blow to the head or body; or

(c) The coach or official is notified that the youth athlete has reported or exhibited any defined sign or symptom of a concussion by any of the following persons:

(i) A licensed, registered or certified medical health care provider operating within their respective scope of practice. The medical health care provider performing an evaluation, for the purposes of this subsection, upon a youth athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion or brain injury may be a volunteer.

(ii) Any other licensed, registered or certified individual whose scope of practice includes the recognition of concussion symptoms. The individual performing an evaluation, for the purposes of this subsection, upon a youth athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion or brain injury may be a volunteer.

(2) If a youth athlete is removed from play under this section and the signs and symptoms cannot be explained readily by a condition other than concussion, the coach must notify the athlete's parent or legal guardian and may not permit the youth athlete to return to play or participate in any supervised team activities involving physical exertion, including games, competitions or practices, until the youth athlete is evaluated by a health care provider and receives written clearance from the health care provider for a full or graduated return to play.

(3) (a) After a youth athlete who has sustained a concussion or head injury has been evaluated and received clearance for a graduated return to play from a health care provider, an organization or association of which a school or school district is a member, a private or public school, a private club, a public recreation facility or an athletic league may allow a licensed athletic trainer with specific knowledge of the athlete's condition to manage the athlete's gradual return to play.

(b) For purposes of this section the health care provider may be a volunteer. A volunteer who authorizes a youth athlete to return to play is not liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission in the rendering of such care, other than acts or omissions constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.

(4) This section does not create any liability for, or create a cause of action against, a school, its officers or its employees, an organization or association of which a school or school district is a member, a private or public school, a private club, a public recreation facility or an athletic league when such person or entity has complied with this section.

SECTION 5. The State Department of Health shall promulgate and make available to all public and private middle schools, junior high schools and high schools, private clubs, public recreation facilities and each athletic league that sponsors youth athletic activities information that informs of the nature and risk of concussion and head injury, including the risks associated with continuing to play after a concussion or head injury.

SECTION 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2014.