HR7590-119

What This Bill Does

This bill conditions federal K-12 education funds on state concussion rules. States receiving Elementary and Secondary Education Act funds must, by the last day of the fifth full fiscal year after enactment, enact laws or regulations requiring local educational agencies to develop standard concussion safety and management plans in consultation with their communities. Plans must educate students, parents, and school personnel; train coaches, teachers, athletic trainers, related services personnel, and school nurses; use forms, treatment plans, fact sheets, observation and monitoring materials; support students recovering from concussions even when the injury did not happen during school sports; use multidisciplinary concussion management teams; provide academic accommodations and gradual cognitive return; evaluate persistent symptoms for IDEA or Section 504 services; and apply uniform concussion best practices to all public-school students. Public elementary and secondary schools must post and publish evidence-based concussion information. A designated school employee must attend every school-sponsored activity and must remove a student suspected of a concussion from athletic activity immediately, bar same-day return, notify parents, and require written clearance from a trained health care professional before return to play. Schools must provide academic supports after concussion. If a state misses the compliance deadline, Education must cut ESEA funds 5 percent for the first following fiscal year and 10 percent for later noncompliance after written notice to the state and congressional committees.

Who Benefits and How

Student athletes, students recovering from concussions, parents, school nurses, athletic trainers, related services personnel, disability-service teams, and public schools benefit from standardized concussion plans, removal protocols, medical clearance, academic accommodations, and public concussion information.

Who Bears the Burden and How

States, local educational agencies, public elementary schools, public secondary schools, coaches, teachers, health care professionals, the Department of Education, and school administrators must enact rules, create plans, attend activities, remove students, notify parents, manage academic supports, and face ESEA funding reductions for noncompliance.

Key Provisions

• Requires states receiving ESEA funds to enact minimum concussion safety and management requirements within five full fiscal years.
• Requires LEA concussion plans covering education, staff training, reporting forms, treatment plans, fact sheets, and academic recovery supports.
• Requires schools to post evidence-based concussion information and have a designated employee at school-sponsored activities.
• Requires immediate athletic removal after suspected concussion and written health-professional clearance before return to play.
• Directs 5 percent and then 10 percent ESEA funding reductions for states that fail to comply after notice.