BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1451|
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                                 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





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          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 







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                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.  







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          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








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           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 








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                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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