2024 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced

House Bill 4303

By Delegate Hornbuckle

[Introduced January 10, 2024; Referred
to the Committee on Education then Finance ]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-2-44, relating to requiring public high schools to have full-time athletic trainers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2. state board of education.

§18-2-44. Public schools to have full-time athletic trainers.

(a) County boards shall provide proper medical services to all high school student athletes attending the schools of their county and shall have the authority to take any other action necessary to protect student athletes from injury, infectious diseases, or any other health condition affecting participation in athletic and related activities.

(b) Each county board shall employ full time a minimum of one licensed athletic trainer for each high school participating in organized sports, ROTC, and performing arts to provide healthcare for all student-athletes regardless of gender or activity.  The county may opt to directly hire a full-time athletic trainer to be paid from their annual budget, moneys from levies or with COVID CARES ACT funds, or the county may contract with a healthcare facility or university to employ a full-time athletic trainer.

(c) Any person employed as an athletic trainer must be a certified athletic trainer licensed by the West Virginia Board of Physical Therapy in accordance with §30-20A-2 of this code.

(d) Specialized health procedures that require the skill, knowledge and judgement of a licensed health professional may be performed only by licensed athletic trainers, or another licensed school health care provider such as Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathy, Doctor of Chiropractic, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, or Physical Therapist who have been trained and retrained every two years. For the purposes of this section "specialized health procedures" includes, but is not limited to, concussion evaluation, management, and return to play in accordance with §18-2-25a of this code, musculoskeletal injury evaluation, management, and return to play, acute injury and illness in athletic participation, and management of environmental illnesses and conditions.

(e) The licensed athletic trainer shall be responsible for compliance with all WVSSAC policies and provisions of this code, including §18-2-25a of this code (concussions), §18-2-25c of this code (AED) and §18-2-25b of this code (Emergency Action Plans for sports).

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to have full-time athletic trainers at public high schools in West Virginia.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.