Bill Text: CA AB2127 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Interscholastic sports: full-contact football practices: concussions and head injuries.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-07-21 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 165, Statutes of 2014. [AB2127 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2127-Introduced.html

---

BILL NUMBER: AB 2127	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooley

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2014

   An act to amend Section 49475 of, and to add Section 35179.5 to,
the Education Code, relating to interscholastic sports.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2127, as introduced, Cooley. Interscholastic sports:
full-contact practices: concussions and head injuries.
   (1) Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary schools operated by local educational agencies throughout
this state. Under existing law, public and private secondary schools
participate in interscholastic sports, and are authorized to enter
into associations or consortia to enact and enforce rules relating to
eligibility for, and participation in, these activities. Existing
law acknowledges the role of the California Interscholastic
Federation in the regulation of interscholastic sports in this state.

   This bill would express legislative findings and declarations
relating to head injuries sustained by high school pupil-athletes,
particularly those who play football. The bill would prohibit high
school and middle school football teams from conducting more than one
full-contact practice, as defined, per week during the preseason and
regular season, as defined, and completely prohibit full-contact
practice during the off-season, as defined. The bill would urge the
California Interscholastic Federation to develop and adopt rules to
implement this provision.
   (2) Existing law requires a school district, charter school, or
private school, if it offers an athletic program, to immediately
remove an athlete from an athletic activity for the remainder of the
day if the athlete is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head
injury, and prohibits the athlete from returning to the athletic
activity until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health care
provider, trained in the management of concussions and acting within
the scope of his or her practice, and the athlete receives written
clearance from the licensed health care provider to return to the
athletic activity. Existing law also requires, on a yearly basis, a
concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and
returned by the athlete and athlete's parent or guardian before the
athlete initiates practice or competition.
   This bill would provide that an athlete suspected of sustaining a
concussion or head injury is prohibited from returning to the
athletic activity until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health
care provider, trained in the management of concussions and acting
within the scope of his or her practice, and the athlete receives
written clearance from the licensed health care provider to return to
the athletic activity after completion of a graduated and supervised
return-to-play protocol of no less than 7 days in duration. The bill
would urge the California Interscholastic Federation to develop and
adopt rules and protocols to implement this provision.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) Concussions and other mild traumatic brain injuries affect
thousands of California's high school pupil-athletes each year. Many
concussions or head injuries go undetected due to a lack of
recognition of symptoms or intentional underreporting of symptoms.
   (b) Most concussions do not involve a loss of consciousness,
according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
   (c) The symptoms of concussions vary, and most symptoms are not
necessarily specific to concussion. Symptoms may include dizziness,
sensitivity to light, and loss of consciousness.
   (d) Pupil-athletes who suffer a concussion are more likely to
suffer an additional concussion than someone who has never been
concussed.
   (e) Children and adolescents are skeletally immature, and are thus
more likely to be concussed or suffer a brain injury than adults.
   (f) Many athletes want to keep playing despite a concussion or
head injury. In a study published by the American Academy of
Pediatrics in October 2012, 32 percent of high school football
players reported that they had experienced symptoms of concussion but
did not pursue medical attention.
   (g) Many high schools lack the standard of care afforded to
college and professional players. At the collegiate and professional
level, neurologists and other physicians are available. High schools
cannot afford this. In California, coaches or athletic trainers must
try to identify a head injury on the sidelines.
   (h) Medical experts recommend that the recovery and rehabilitation
process from a concussion proceed conservatively. Experts suggest
six stages, which should be supervised, should last at least 24 hours
each, and that athletes should be prohibited from proceeding until
they are asymptomatic. Most athletes are symptom-free in 7 to 10
days, but according to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
adolescents suffer from post-concussive symptoms longer than adults
or college students.
   (i) Researchers agree that there is no way to "condition" the
brain for hits to the head. Researchers strongly contend that hits to
the brain should be minimized as much as possible.
   (j) Several academic and scientific studies have asserted that the
cumulative effects of sub-concussive blows to the brain due to
football may contribute to long-term brain damage and early-onset
dementia, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
   (k) A Boston University study in 2012 studied the brains of 85
deceased athletes and military veterans with histories of repeated
mild traumatic brain injuries. Eighty percent of those studied had
CTE. Six of the deceased were football players who had not played
past high school.
   (l) In 2010, a 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania football
player committed suicide. After a subsequent brain study, he was
found to have early stages of CTE. The athlete had never been
diagnosed with a concussion, and had never even complained of a
headache. Doctors contend that his CTE must have developed from
concussions he dismissed or from the thousands of sub-concussive
collisions he endured while playing football, most of which occurred
while his brain was still developing.
   (m) Nineteen states have banned off-season full-contact high
school football practices. California allows each of its 10 sections
to make its own determination. Several of those sections still allow
full-contact summer and spring practices.
   (n) Several states have limited full-contact practices during the
preseason and regular season.
   (o) Maryland requires that a supervised return-to-play protocol be
followed in the event of a concussion or head injury.
  SEC. 2.  Section 35179.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   35179.5.  (a) A high school or middle school football team shall
not conduct more than one full-contact practice per week during the
preseason and regular season. A high school or middle school football
team shall not hold a full-contact practice during the off-season.
   (b) The California Interscholastic Federation is urged to develop
and adopt rules to implement this section.
   (c) As used in this section:
   (1) "Full-contact practice" means a practice where drills or live
game simulations are conducted that involve the collisions and other
activity that is typical of an actual tackle football game.
   (2) "Off-season" means a period extending from the end of the
regular season until 30 days before the commencement of the next
regular season.
   (3) "Preseason" means a period of 30 days before the commencement
of the regular season.
   (4) "Regular season" means the period from the first
interscholastic football game or scrimmage until the completion of
the final interscholastic football game of that season.
  SEC. 3.  Section 49475 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   49475.  (a) If a school district, charter school, or private
school elects to offer an athletic program, the school district,
charter school, or private school shall comply with both of the
following:
   (1) An athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head
injury in an athletic activity shall be immediately removed from the
athletic activity for the remainder of the day, and shall not be
permitted to return to the athletic activity until he or she is
evaluated by a licensed health care provider who is trained in the
management of concussions and is acting within the scope of his or
her practice. The athlete shall not be permitted to return to the
athletic activity until he or she receives written clearance to
return to the athletic activity from that licensed health care
provider  after completion of a graduated and supervised
return-to-play protocol of no less than seven days in duration. The
California Interscholastic Federation is urged to work in
consultation with the American Academy of Pediatrics to develop and
adopt rules and protocols to implement this paragraph  .
   (2) On a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury information
sheet shall be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete's
parent or guardian before the athlete initiates practice or
competition.
   (b) This section does not apply to an athlete engaging in an
athletic activity during the regular schoolday or as part of a
physical education course required pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 51220.