Bill Text: IA SF2225 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

Iowa Senate Bill 2225 (Prior Session Legislation)

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

Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to assessing and reporting of potential concussions or brain injuries in certain extracurricular interscholastic athletic contests. (Formerly SSB 3044.)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2016-03-07 - Fiscal note. HCS. [SF2225 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-SF2225-Introduced.html

Senate File 2225 - Introduced




                                 SENATE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO SSB
                                     3044)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to assessing and reporting of potential
  2    concussions or brain injuries in certain extracurricular
  3    interscholastic athletic contests.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 280.13C, Code 2016, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  3A.  a.  The home team in an extracurricular
  1  4 interscholastic contest in which high school athletic teams
  1  5 participate in a collision sport shall ensure that a contest
  1  6 health care professional is present and available to assess
  1  7 athletic injuries at such contest.
  1  8    b.  The home team in an extracurricular interscholastic
  1  9 contest in which high school athletic teams participate in a
  1 10 contact sport is strongly encouraged to ensure that a contest
  1 11 health care professional is present and available to assess
  1 12 athletic injuries at such contest.
  1 13    c.  If an athlete who is a member of a visiting team in an
  1 14 extracurricular interscholastic contest at which a contest
  1 15 health care professional is present and available to assess
  1 16 athletic injuries as provided in this section shows signs,
  1 17 symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a concussion or brain
  1 18 injury, the contest health care professional shall notify the
  1 19 visiting team's athletic director within forty=eight hours
  1 20 after the contest occurs.
  1 21    d.  The department of education shall adopt rules pursuant
  1 22 to chapter 17A establishing a process whereby a high school
  1 23 may apply for an annual waiver of the requirements of this
  1 24 section from the department and receive such a waiver if the
  1 25 high school demonstrates a good=faith effort to comply with the
  1 26 requirements of this section and an inability to do so due to a
  1 27 regional shortage of contest health care professionals.
  1 28    e.  The department of education, the Iowa high school
  1 29 athletic association, and the Iowa girls high school athletic
  1 30 union shall establish a process whereby an extracurricular
  1 31 interscholastic athletic contest can still take place when
  1 32 a contest health care professional who was scheduled to be
  1 33 present and available as provided in this section is not able
  1 34 to be present and available due to unforeseen circumstances.
  1 35    Sec. 2.  Section 280.13C, subsection 4, Code 2016, is amended
  2  1 by adding the following new paragraphs:
  2  2    NEW PARAGRAPH.  0a.  "Collision sport" means football,
  2  3 soccer, wrestling, hockey, or lacrosse.
  2  4    NEW PARAGRAPH.  00a.  "Contact sport" means a sport that is
  2  5 not a collision sport and that is defined as a contact sport by
  2  6 the American academy of pediatrics.
  2  7    NEW PARAGRAPH.  000a.  "Contest health care professional"
  2  8 means a physician licensed under chapter 148, physical
  2  9 therapist licensed under chapter 148A, or athletic trainer
  2 10 licensed under chapter 152D.
  2 11    Sec. 3.  IMPLEMENTATION OF ACT.  Section 25B.2, subsection
  2 12 3, shall not apply to this Act.
  2 13                           EXPLANATION
  2 14 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 15 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 16    This bill requires the home team in an extracurricular
  2 17 interscholastic contest in which high school athletic teams
  2 18 participate in a collision sport to ensure that a contest
  2 19 health care professional is present and available to assess
  2 20 athletic injuries at such contest.  The bill strongly
  2 21 encourages the home team in an extracurricular interscholastic
  2 22 contest in which high school athletic teams participate in a
  2 23 contact sport to ensure that a contest health care professional
  2 24 is present and available to assess athletic injuries at such
  2 25 contest.
  2 26    The bill requires a contest health care professional who
  2 27 is present and available to assess athletic injuries at an
  2 28 extracurricular interscholastic contest as provided in the bill
  2 29 to notify the visiting team's athletic director within 48 hours
  2 30 after the contest occurs if an athlete who is a member of the
  2 31 visiting team shows signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent
  2 32 with a concussion or brain injury.
  2 33    The bill requires the department of education to adopt
  2 34 rules establishing a process whereby a high school may
  2 35 apply for an annual waiver of the requirements of the bill
  3  1 from the department and receive such a waiver if the high
  3  2 school demonstrates a good=faith effort to comply with the
  3  3 requirements of the bill and an inability to do so due to a
  3  4 regional shortage of contest health care professionals.
  3  5    The bill requires the department of education, the Iowa
  3  6 high school athletic association, and the Iowa girls high
  3  7 school athletic union to establish a process whereby an
  3  8 extracurricular interscholastic athletic contest can still take
  3  9 place when a contest health care professional who was scheduled
  3 10 to be present and available as provided in the bill is not able
  3 11 to be present and available due to unforeseen circumstances.
  3 12    The bill defines "contest health care professional" as a
  3 13 physician licensed under Code chapter 148, physical therapist
  3 14 licensed under Code chapter 148A, or athletic trainer licensed
  3 15 under Code chapter 152D.  The bill defines "collision sport"
  3 16 as football, soccer, wrestling, hockey, or lacrosse. The bill
  3 17 defines "contact sport" as a sport that is not a collision
  3 18 sport and that is defined as a contact sport by the American
  3 19 academy of pediatrics.
  3 20    The bill may include a state mandate as defined in Code
  3 21 section 25B.3.  The bill makes inapplicable Code section 25B.2,
  3 22 subsection 3, which would relieve a political subdivision from
  3 23 complying with a state mandate if funding for the cost of
  3 24 the state mandate is not provided or specified.  Therefore,
  3 25 political subdivisions are required to comply with any state
  3 26 mandate included in the bill.
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