Bill Text: MS SB2265 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Youth sports concussions and head injuries; provide procedures and education requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-02-03 - Died In Committee [SB2265 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-SB2265-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Welfare; Education
By: Senator(s) Watson
Senate Bill 2265
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 37-24-3, 37-24-5 AND 37-24-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CLARIFY DEFINITIONS AND THE APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS OF THE "MISSISSIPPI YOUTH CONCUSSION LAW"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 37-24-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-24-3. As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the meanings as defined in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(a) "Health care provider" means a licensed physician or a licensed nurse practitioner, licensed physician assistant or licensed health care professional working within the person's scope of practice and under the direct supervision or written consultation of a physician. All health care providers referred to in this chapter also must be trained in the evaluation and management of concussions.
(b) "School athletic event" means activities sanctioned by the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) or the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS), and school-sponsored activities in Grades 7 through 12 of schools that are not members of the MHSAA or the MAIS which activities are organized and conducted in a manner substantially similar to activities that are sanctioned by the MHSAA or the MAIS.
(c) "Public recreation facility" means a recreation facility owned or leased by the State of Mississippi or a political subdivision thereof, or a recreation facility owned or leased by a nonprofit entity which invites members of the public to the facility.
(d) "Youth athletic activity" means an organized athletic activity held at a public recreation facility where the majority of the participants are seven (7) years of age or older and under nineteen (19) years of age, and are engaging in an organized athletic game or competition against another team, club, or entity or in practice or preparation for an organized game or competition against another team, club or entity. "Youth athletic activity" shall not include college or university activities or an activity which is entered into for instructional purposes only, an athletic activity that is incidental to a nonathletic program, or a coursework lesson.
SECTION 2. Section 37-24-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-24-5. Each local board of education, administration of a nonpublic school, and governing body of a charter school and the governing body of each youth athletic activity, shall adopt and implement a concussion management and return-to-play policy applicable to all school athletic events and/or youth athletic activities that includes the following components:
(a) Parents or guardians shall receive and sign a copy of the concussion policy before the start of the regular school athletic event season.
(b) An athlete who reports or displays any symptoms or signs of a concussion in a practice or game setting shall be removed immediately from the practice or game. The athlete shall not be allowed to return to the practice or game for the remainder of the day regardless of whether the athlete appears or states that he or she is normal.
(c) The athlete shall be evaluated by a health care provider working within the provider's scope of practice.
(d) If an athlete has sustained a concussion, the athlete shall be referred to a licensed physician, preferably one with experience in managing sports concussion injuries.
(e) The athlete who has been diagnosed with a concussion shall be returned to play only after full recovery and clearance by a health care provider.
(f) An athlete shall not return to a competitive game before demonstrating that he or she has no symptoms in a full supervised practice.
(g) Athletes shall not continue to practice or return to play while still having symptoms of a concussion.
SECTION 3. Section 37-24-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
37-24-9. This chapter does
not create any liability for, or create a cause of action against, a school or
its officers * * *, employees or volunteers, a health care provider, an
organization or association of which a school or school district is a member, a
private or public school, a private club, a public recreation facility or
its officers, employees or volunteers, or an athletic league when such
person or entity has complied with the provisions of this chapter.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.
