BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 588 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 588 (Fox) As Amended May 13, 2013 Majority vote EDUCATION 7-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Campos, | | | | |Chávez, Nazarian, Weber, | | | | |Williams | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Applies existing law relating to students who sustain, or are suspecting of sustaining, a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic activity to private schools and charter schools and requires specified information be provided to athletes and the athlete's parent or guardian regarding concussions. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes applicable to private schools and charter schools existing law that requires a school district that chooses to offer an athletic program to immediately remove an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury from the activity for the remainder of the day and prohibits the athlete from returning to the activity until he or she is cleared by a licensed health care provider. 2)Makes applicable to private schools and charter schools existing law that requires a school district that chooses to offer an athletic program to require each athlete and each athlete's parent or guardian to sign and return a concussion and head injury information sheet prior to the athlete participating in practice or competition. 3)Specifies that the concussion and head injury information sheet contain, at minimum, information regarding concussions and their symptoms. 4)Allows the concussion and head injury information sheet be made available digitally (e.g. e-mail or on an Internet Web site). FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the AB 588 Page 2 Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : Concussions have serious immediate and long-term effects. A concussion is a brain injury caused by a blow to the head or body or from hitting a hard surface, and in only 10% of cases is it evident from loss of consciousness. Under existing law, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is a voluntary organization consisting of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools. CIF policy ensures student athletes do not return to practice or competition until evaluated by a healthcare professional; however this only covers about one million students between 14-18 years old. Existing law already widened the students to whom this policy applies by including the three million students between 6-14 years old playing non-CIF youth sports in public schools. This bill further extends this policy to those students ages 6-18 participating in non-CIF athletic programs in private schools and charter schools. This bill also ensures that all K-12 athletes, whether attending a private or public school, and their parents are aware of the signs and symptoms of a concussion in order to prevent further injury. According to the author, by specifying the content of the information to be provided to athletes and their parent or guardian, there will be an increased awareness of the signs and symptoms of serious head injuries, especially for young athletes who are more vulnerable to greater injury. This increased understanding provides youth participating in athletics with safeguards against long-term injuries that result from concussions and head injury, helps parents advocate for their children when these health issues arise, and assists parents in managing head injury outside of school. Additionally, this bill promotes easy access to these materials by specifying that a school may provide these materials to athletes and their parents via e-mail and post the information on the school's Web site. Previous legislation : AB 1451 (Hayashi), Chapter 173, Statutes of 2012, includes a basic understanding of the signs and symptoms of concussions and the appropriate response to concussions within the High School Coaching Education and Training Program (HSCETP), administered by school districts. AB 25 (Hayashi), Chapter 465, Statutes of 2011, requires a school AB 588 Page 3 district that elects to offer athletic programs to immediately remove from a school-sponsored athletic activity for the remainder of the day an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury during that activity; prohibits the return of the athlete to that activity until he or she is evaluated by, and receives written clearance from, a licensed health care provider; requires, on a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and returned by the athlete and the athlete's parent or guardian before the athlete's initiating practice or competition. AB 1449 (Hayashi) of 2012 requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop and make available a concussion and head injury information sheet that a school district could use to satisfy the requirements of Education Code Section 49475. This bill died in the Assembly Education Committee. AB 1646 (Hayashi) of 2010 held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file, requires training for coaches to be able to identify symptoms of head and neck injury. AB 1647 (Hayashi) of 2010 establishes certification and training requirements for athletic trainers. The bill also prohibits individuals from calling themselves athletic trainers unless they met those requirements. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed this bill with the following message, "This bill is similar to legislation I have vetoed twice before in the past because there is no evidence that regulating the use of the term "certified athletic trainer" poses any threat to the public health and safety." AB 1893 (Hayashi) of 2010 held in the Assembly Education Committee, requires all high school spirit activities 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 this activity who experience or show signs of trauma or other injury must obtain a release from the treating provider before resuming these activities. AB 533 (Hayashi) of 2009 held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee suspense file, requires training for coaches to be able to identify symptoms of head and neck injury. AB 588 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0000542