BILL NUMBER: AB 1646 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 21, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hayashi
JANUARY 12, 2010
An act relating to high school athletics.
An act to amend Sections 35179.1 and 49032 of the Education Code,
relating to training for high school coaches.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1646, as amended, Hayashi. High school athletics: training for
coaches.
Existing
(1) Existing law states the
intent of the Legislature to establish a California High School
Coaching Education and Training Program to be administered by local
school districts and to emphasize, among other things, training and
certification in CPR and first aid. Existing law requires each high
school sports coach to complete a coaching education program
developed by his or her school district or the California
Interscholastic Federation that meets specified guidelines. Existing
law makes a high school sports coach responsible for the costs of
taking the prescribed course.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would increase training for high school sports
coaches relating to traumatic brain injuries, heatstroke, asthma
attacks, and cardiac arrest.
This bill, commencing December 31, 2011, would require all coaches
taking or renewing first aid certification to take training that
includes a basic understanding of the signs, symptoms, and
appropriate emergency action steps regarding potentially catastrophic
injuries, including, but not limited to, head and neck injuries,
concussions, 2nd impact syndrome, asthma attacks, heatstroke, and
cardiac arrest. By requiring high school coaches to complete this
additional training, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 35179.1 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
35179.1. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the
1998 California High School Coaching Education and Training Program.
(b) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The exploding demand in girls athletics, and an
increase in the number of pupils participating in both boys and girls
athletics, are causing an increase in the number of coaches needed
statewide The increase in the number of both boys and
girls who participate in high school athletics requires a
corresponding increase in the number of coaches statewide
.
(2) Well-trained coaches are vital to the success of the
experience of a pupil in sports and interscholastic athletic
activities pupil athletes .
(3) Improvement in coaching is a primary need identified
by hundreds of principals, superintendents, and school board members
who participated in the development of a strategic plan for the
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in 1993 and 1994
Hundreds of principals, superintendents, and school
board members, who participated in developing a strategic
plan in conjunction with the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF), identified coaching improvement as a vital investment .
(4) There are many concerns about safety, training, organization,
philosophy, communications, and general management in coaching that
need to be addressed.
(5) It is a conservative estimate that at least 25,000 coaches
annually need training and an orientation just to meet current
coaching regulations contained in Title 5 of the California Code of
Regulations, including basic safety and CPR requirements.
(6)
(5) School districts, in conjunction with the
California Interscholastic Federation, have taken the initial first
steps toward building a statewide coaching education program by
assembling a faculty of statewide trainers composed of school
district administrators, coaches, and athletic directors using a
national program being used in several states.
(6) Concussions are a serious and growing public health concern,
especially for athletes participating in contact sports.
(7) Concussions can be difficult to detect and, along with other
serious head injuries, can have long-term effects, including suicide,
depression, memory loss, sleep disorders, impairments in attention,
and motor deficits. The effects of these injuries, while not all
preventable, can be mitigated by prompt recognition and appropriate
response.
(8) The competitive interscholastic athletic culture of playing
through pain or "toughing it out" puts pupil athletes at serious
risk.
(9) Concussions have a cumulative effect. Allowing an athlete to
return to play too early after a concussion increases the chance of
more serious brain injury. A concussion can cause rapid brain
swelling that can result in coma or even death.
(10) Currently, coaches, pupil athletes, and parents of pupil
athletes lack appropriate awareness about the prevention,
identification, and treatment of concussions.
(11) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
at least three million sports- and recreation-related concussions
occur in the United States each year.
(c) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to establish a
California High School Coaching Education and Training Program. It
is the intent of the Legislature that the program be administered by
local school districts and emphasize the following components:
(1) Development of coaching philosophies consistent with the
goals of the school, school district, and school board
goals governing board of the school district .
(2) Sport psychology: emphasizing communication, reinforcement of
the efforts of young people, effective delivery of coaching regarding
technique , and motivation of the pupil athlete.
(3) Sport pedagogy: how young athletes learn, and how to teach
sport skills.
(4) Sport physiology: principles of training, fitness for sport,
development of a training program, nutrition for athletes, and the
harmful effects associated with the use of steroids and
performance-enhancing dietary supplements by adolescents.
(5) Sport management: team management, risk management, and
working within the context of an entire school program.
(6) Training: certification in CPR and first aid.
Training provided by the American Red Cross, the
American Heart Association, or another organization that provides
equivalent training and certification in all of the following areas:
(A) Valid and current certification in CPR.
(B) Valid and current certification in first aid that includes a
basic understanding of the signs, symptoms, and appropriate emergency
action steps regarding potentially catastrophic injuries, including,
but not limited to, head and neck injuries, concussions, second
impact syndrome, asthma attacks, heatstroke, and cardiac arrest.
(C) Emergency action planning.
(D) Communicating effectively with 911 emergency services.
(7) Knowledge of, and adherence to, statewide rules and
regulations, as well as school regulations including, but not
necessarily limited to, eligibility, gender equity , and
discrimination.
(8) Sound planning and goal setting.
(d) This section does not endorse a particular coaching education
or training program.
SEC. 2. Section 49032 of the Education
Code is amended to read:
49032. (a) (1) Effective December 31, 2008, each high school
sports coach shall have completed a coaching education program
developed by his or her school district or the California
Interscholastic Federation that meets the guidelines set forth in
Section 35179.1. Commencing on December 31, 2011, all coaches
taking or renewing their first aid certification shall meet the
guidelines set forth in paragraph (6) of subdivision (b) of Section
35179.1, as that section is amended during the second year of the
2009-10 Regular Session.
(2) The coaching education program described by paragraph (1) may
be taught by an athletic director or high school sports coach who is
deemed to be qualified by the California Interscholastic Federation.
(b) Upon completion of the program, a high school sports coach
shall be deemed to have completed the education requirement for the
remainder of his or her time coaching at the high school level in any
school district in the state.
(c) Each high school sports coach shall be responsible for the
costs of taking the course.
(d) The training requirements of this section shall count toward
the continuing education required for the renewal of the teaching
credential of a coach who is also a certificated employee.
(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a high school sports coach
who does not meet the requirements of subdivision (a) may be used for
no longer than one season of interscholastic competition.
(f) For the purposes of this section, "high school sports coach"
means an employee or a volunteer who is authorized by a high school
to be responsible for leading a school sports team of pupil athletes.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would increase training for high school
sports coaches relating to traumatic brain injuries, heatstroke,
asthma attacks, and cardiac arrest.