BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1646
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Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1646 (Hayashi) - As Amended: February 11, 2010
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:6-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill amends the existing California High School Coaching
Education and Training (CHSCET) program to require coaches be
trained in a basic understanding of the signs and symptoms of
specified injuries, including those related to the head and
neck. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires training in emergency action planning and
communicating effectively with 911 emergency services under
the CHSCET program. This measure further requires this
training and the training in understanding the signs and
symptoms of specified injuries, including those related to the
head and neck to be provided by the American Red Cross, the
American Heart Association, or another organization that
provides equivalent training and certification.
2)Requires all coaches, by December 31, 2011, that take or renew
their first aid certification to meet the additional
requirements specified above.
FISCAL EFFECT
Potential GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, likely
between $188,000 and $470,000, to school districts to pay for
the cost of a coach attending the CHSCET program. While the
bill does require that each high school coach is responsible for
the cost of the course, it is not unreasonable to assume that as
part of their employment contracts with school districts high
school coaches are reimbursed for the cost of training.
COMMENTS
AB 1646
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1)Purpose . According to a study entitled: Survey of the Injury
Rate for Children in Community Sports, published in
Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics (2002), contact with equipment was the most
frequent method of injury, except in football where contact
with another player was the most frequent method. While
baseball and soccer players reported less than three percent
of their injuries as serious, football players reported an
average of 14% of injuries as serious. The majority of
injuries to child athletes occur during games rather than
practice.
The article published in Pediatrics recommends that youth
sports leagues provide and require first aid training for
coaches, including recognition and immediate response to head,
neck, and spine injuries, as well as head-related illnesses.
This bill requires high school coaches, by December 31, 2011,
to be trained in a basic understanding of the signs and
symptoms of specified injuries, including those related to the
head and neck, as specified.
2)Existing law . AB 2741 (Miller), Statues of 1998, Chapter 744
expressed the intent of the Legislature to establish a CHSCET
program, to be administered by local school districts. The
1998 Budget Act allocated $1 million to train 10,000 coaches
for this program.
SB 37 (Spier), Chapter 673, Statutes of 2005, added
instruction on the harmful effects associated with the use of
steroids and performance-enhancing dietary supplements by
adolescents to the CHSCET program. Chapter 673 also required,
effective December 31, 2008, each high school sports coach to
complete a coaching education program developed by his or her
school district or the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF) that meets specified guidelines, including training in
sports management, certification in Cardiopulmonary
Resuscitation and first aid. Statute also specifies that each
high school coach is responsible for the cost of the course.
Likewise, current law states that upon completion of the
program, a high school coach is deemed to have completed this
requirement for the remainder of his or her tenure as a coach,
as specified.
AB 1646
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Currently CIF offers classroom and online training programs to
high school coaches who receive a certificate upon course
completion (typically eight hours in a classroom or six hours
for an online class). To date more than 80,000 coaches have
taken the training, which costs between $70 and $150 per
person for classroom training or an average of $52 per person
for online training. Some school districts require a coach to
complete a classroom program, but more districts are allowing
on-line training due to the accessibility and cost. Likewise,
some school districts pay for the cost of the training, while
others require the coach to pay for it. The completed
certificate is transferable between school districts in
California and out of state.
3)The CIF , established in 1914, is a voluntary organization
consisting of school and school-related personnel with
responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic
activities in grades 9-12. It is accountable to the governing
boards of school districts and other local agencies. In 2009,
approximately 1,442 public, private, and charter schools were
members of CIF. In 2009, a total of 736,727 students (438,561
boys and 298,166 girls) participated in athletics through this
organization.
4)Previous legislation . AB 533 (Hayashi), similar to this bill,
was held on this committee's Suspense File in May 2009.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081