Senate Bill No. 680
(By Senators Oliverio, Plymale and Stollings)
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[Introduced February 22, 2010; referred to the Committee on
Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §18-2-25a, relating
to requiring the proposal and adoption of rules for the
management of concussion and head injury in youth sports.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §18-2-25a, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
§18-2-25a. Management of concussions and head injuries in youth
sports.
(a) The Legislature finds:
(1) Concussions are one of the most commonly reported injuries
in children and adolescents who participate in sports and recreational activities. The centers for disease control and
prevention estimates that as many as three million nine hundred
thousand sports-related and recreation-related concussions occur in
the United States each year.
(2) 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 of catastrophic injuries or death are significant when a
concussion or head injury is not properly evaluated and managed.
(3) Concussions are a type of brain injury that can range from
mild to severe and can disrupt the way the brain normally works.
(4) Concussions can occur in any organized or unorganized
sport or recreational activity and can result from a fall or from
players colliding with each other, the ground or with obstacles.
(5) Concussions occur with or without loss of consciousness,
but the vast majority occur without loss of consciousness.
(6) 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 concussion
and head injury, some affected youth athletes are prematurely
returned to play resulting in actual or potential physical injury
or death to youth athletes in the State of West Virginia.
(b) The West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission shall propose rules for legislative approval as appropriate under
the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
for developing the guidelines and other pertinent information and
forms to inform and educate coaches, youth athletes, and their
parents or guardians both, of the nature and risk of concussion and
head injury including continuing to play after concussion or head
injury. The rules required by this section shall include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(1) On a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury
information sheet shall be signed and returned by the youth athlete
and the athlete's parent or guardian before the youth athlete's
initiating practice or competition.
(2) A youth athlete who is suspected of sustaining a
concussion or head injury in a practice or game shall be removed
from competition at that time.
(3) A youth athlete who has been removed from play may not
return to play until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health
care provider trained in the evaluation and management of
concussion and receives written clearance to return to play from
that licensed health care provider. 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the West Virginia
Secondary School Activities Commission to propose legislative rules
concerning the management of concussions and head injuries in youth
sports.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.