BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1451| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1451 Author: Hayashi (D) Amended: 6/15/12 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 5/16/12 AYES: Lowenthal, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Price, Simitian, Vargas NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Alquist, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 4/12/12 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : High School Coaching Education and Training Program SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill adds a component regarding the identification of concussions to the first aid training that high school athletic coaches are required to complete. This bill authorizes concussion training may be fulfilled through entities offering free, online, or other types of training courses. Senate Floor Amendments of 6/15/12 clarify that coaches may receive training on the identification of concussions through entities offering free courses. ANALYSIS : CONTINUED AB 1451 Page 2 Existing law: 1. Requires each high school sports coach to complete a coaching education program developed by the employing school district or the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) that meets the guidelines described in #2 below. 2. States that it is the intent of the Legislature to establish the California High School Coaching Education and Training Program (Program), to be administered by school districts and emphasize the following components: A. Development of coaching philosophies consistent with the goals of the school, school district, and school district governing board. B. Sport psychology. C. Sport pedagogy. D. Sport physiology including principles of training and the harmful effects associated with the use of steroids. E. Sport management. F. Training, specifically certification in CPR and first aid. G. Knowledge of and adherence to statewide rules and regulations, as well as school regulations including eligibility, gender equity, and discrimination. H. Sound planning and goal setting. 3. Requires a school district that elects to offer an athletic program to comply with both of the following: A. Immediately remove for the remainder of the day from athletic activity an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury, and prohibit the pupil from returning to the activity until he/she AB 1451 Page 3 is evaluated by a licensed health care provider who has been trained in the management of concussions. B. Require, on an annual basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete's parent before the athlete's may practice or compete. The CIF's Bylaw 313 requires a student-athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in a practice or game to be removed from competition at that time for the remainder of the day. A student-athlete who has been removed from play is prohibited from returning to play until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health care provider trained in education and management of concussion and receives written clearance to return to play from that health care provider. A Question and Answer is listed below Bylaw 313, indicating that the scope of practice for a "licensed health care provider" will limit the evaluation to a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy. This bill requires the existing first aid training pursuant to the Program to include a basic understanding of the signs and symptoms of concussions and the appropriate response to concussions. This bill authorizes concussion training may be fulfilled through entities offering free, online, or other types of training courses. Comments Coaches training . Currently the CIF offers training programs to high school coaches who receive a certificate upon course completion (typically an eight hour class). To date more than 60,000 coaches have taken the training, which costs approximately $60 per person. Some school districts pay for the program while others require the coach to pay for it. The completed certificate is transferable between school districts. CIF's coaches training program under the Program does not currently include instruction on concussions. However, CIF does offer a free online concussion training course for coaches where the coach receives an immediate printed certification upon completion. AB 1451 Page 4 Some school districts offer training opportunities. Existing law requires coaches training, whether offered by a district, CIF, or organizations such as the Red Cross, to meet the criteria of the Program. Currently, coaches must complete a CPR/first aid course and renew that training every one to three years, depending on which entity provides the training. Because this bill includes training on concussions as part of the CPR/first aid training requirement, coaches will be required to receive updated concussion training every one to three years as well. Related/Prior Legislation AB 1449 (Hayashi) would have required the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop and make available on the California Department of Education's Web site a concussion and head injury information sheet that a school district may use to send to a student athlete's parent or guardian for signature. The bill was never heard. AB 1646 (Hayashi, 2010) and AB 533 (Hayashi, 2009) each would have required training for athletic coaches in the identification of symptoms of head and neck injury. Both bills were held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's suspense file. AB 1893 (Hayashi, 2010) would have required all high school spirit activities (HSSA) coaches to have valid certification in CPR and first aid, including an understanding of signs, symptoms, and appropriate emergency action steps regarding potentially catastrophic injury, including but not limited to, head and neck injury and concussion. Pupils participating in HSSA who experience or show signs of trauma or other injury would have been required to obtain a release from the treating provider before resuming spirit activities. The bill was never heard. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No AB 1451 Page 5 SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/12) American Academy of Pediatrics California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance California Athletic Trainers Association California Chapters of the American Red Cross Los Angeles County Office of Education California Teachers Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "What may appear to be a minor blow to the head can have serious, even fatal, consequences. Emerging studies indicate that high school athletes are at risk of suffering from sleep disorders, memory loss, mental fatigue, depression or even suicide as a result of head injuries sustained in sports. While not all head injuries can be prevented, the effects can be mitigated by knowing when it is safe to return to play. Currently, the only mandatory injury-related training for high school coaches in California is certification in CPR and first aid. This bill incorporates concussion-related training into these existing requirements." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 4/12/12 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Gatto, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Cedillo, Cook, Fletcher, Garrick, Gordon, Bonnie Lowenthal, Morrell, Norby, Wieckowski PQ:k 6/20/12 Senate Floor Analyses AB 1451 Page 6 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****