Amended in Assembly May 31, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2182

Introduced by Assembly Member Mullin

February 18, 2016

An act to add Section 49475.6 to, and to add and repeal Section 49475.5 of, the Education Code, relating to school athletics.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2182, as amended, Mullin. School athletics: neurocognitive testing.

(1) Existing law requires a school district, charter school, or private school, if it offers an athletic program, to immediately remove an athlete from an athletic activity for the remainder of the day if the athlete is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury, and prohibits the athlete from returning to the athletic activity until the athlete is evaluated by a licensed health care provider, trained in the management of concussions and acting within the scope of his or her practice, and the athlete receives written clearance from the licensed health care provider to return to the athletic activity. Existing law also requires, on a yearly basis, a concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and returned by the athlete and athlete’s parent or guardian before the athlete initiates practice or competition.

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This bill would express legislative findings and declarations relating to concussions or traumatic injuries sustained by pupils participating in high school interscholastic athletics and the value of neurocognitive testing.

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The

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begin insert This end insert bill would establish the Neurocognitive Testing Pilot Grant Program to begin delete commence in the 2017-18 school year. end delete begin insert provide grant funding to Title I schools for the purposes of neurocognitive testing. end insert The bill would require the begin delete State Department of Education to develop an application for school districts interested in participating in the pilot program. end delete begin insert Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish an application process for school districts to apply on behalf of Title I schools interested in participating in the pilot program. The bill would require grants under the pilot program to be apportioned to a total of 3 school districts, comprising one school district in each of the following regions of the state: southern, central, and northern. end insert A participating school district would be required to commit to participating in the pilot program for 4 school years in order to track pupils tested in grade 9 through completion of high school. begin delete The end delete

begin insert The end insert bill would begin delete provide end delete begin insert require end insert that grant begin delete funds, based on an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute, end delete begin insert funds end insert would be used for baseline begin insert and postinjury end insert neurocognitive testing, as defined, for pupils begin insert attending a Title I school serving any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, end insert who participate in interscholastic athletics in any of 12 designated sports. The bill would require this begin insert baseline and postinjury neurocognitive end insert testing to take place at the beginning of an athletic season before any competitions have taken place and after any head injury, and would require that begin delete this end delete baseline neurocognitive testing be repeated at intervals not exceeding 24 months for as long as the athlete is enrolled at the begin delete school. end delete begin insert school and participating in one or more of the 12 sports listed in the bill. The bill would require the baseline and postinjury neurocognitive testing conducted pursuant to the bill to be administered by individuals, including, but not necessarily limited to, employees of a participating school district, who have been trained to administer these tests. end insert

The bill would also provide that grant funds could be used for training of personnel and consultation with experts, as specified. The bill would further provide that, under the pilot program, the parent or guardian of each athlete participating in any of the 12 interscholastic sports listed in the bill would be notified, in writing, that the results of baseline and postinjury neurocognitive testing conducted on his or her child are available to the child’s parent or guardian, or could be shared with the athlete’s physician, upon request.

The bill would also provide that grant funds could be used for reporting specified data relating to the baseline neurocognitive testing to the appropriate county office of education. The bill would require the State Department of Education to submit a report containing specified information to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature on or before December 31, 2021.

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These provisions would be contingent upon the appropriation of funds for their purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

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These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2022.

(2) Existing law provides that, if a licensed health care provider determines that an athlete sustained a concussion or a head injury while engaging in an athletic activity, the athlete is required to complete a graduated return-to-play protocol of no less than 7 days in duration under the supervision of a licensed health care provider.

This bill would require a school district, charter school, or private school that offers an interscholastic athletic program to collect and maintain data on traumatic brain injuries and concussions sustained by any of its pupils during an interscholastic athletic activity. The bill would require that this data be reported periodically to the appropriate county office of education, and would require the county office of education to compile and retain the data for summary and analysis as it deems necessary. By imposing new duties on county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) 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: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), California’s
governing body for high school sports, requires that, if it is
suspected that a pupil has sustained a concussion or traumatic brain
injury in an athletic competition, the pupil must be removed from
competition immediately and required to receive written clearance
from a licensed health care provider before returning to
competition.

(b) Section 49475 of the Education Code, as it was amended
by Assembly Bill 2127 of the 2013-14 Regular Session of the
Legislature effective January 1, 2015, provides that a pupil athlete
who has been diagnosed with a concussion cannot return to play
sooner than seven days after having been evaluated and diagnosed
by a licensed health care provider.

(c) The value of neurocognitive testing is that it establishes a
baseline of each athlete’s normal neurocognitive functioning before
beginning athletic activity. By establishing this baseline, an athlete
with a suspected head injury can then be retested to help assess
the degree of injury.

(d) Following any kind of head injury, athletes retake the test
and have the results judged against the baseline test. This is
especially important when an athlete experiences numerous hits
to the head.

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begin delete SEC. 2. end delete

begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

Section 49475.5 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

49475.5.  

(a) The Neurocognitive Testing Pilot Grant Program
is hereby begin delete established, commencing with the 2017-18 school year.
The department shall develop an application for school districts
interested in participating in the pilot program. A participating
school district shall commit to participating in the pilot program
for four school years in order to track pupils tested in grade 9
through completion of high school. end delete begin insert established to provide grant
funding to Title I schools for the purposes of neurocognitive testing. end insert

(b)  begin delete Grant funds, based on an appropriation in the annual Budget
Act or another statute, end delete begin insert The Superintendent shall establish an
application process for school districts to apply on behalf of Title
I schools interested in participating in the pilot program. end insert begin insert Grants
shall be apportioned under the pilot program to a total of three
school districts, which shall comprise one school district in each
of the following regions of the state: southern, central, and
northern. Each school district shall commit to participating in the
pilot program for four school years in order to track pupils tested
in grade 9 through completion of high school. Grant funding end insert shall
be used for the following:

(1) (A) Baseline begin insert and postinjury end insert neurocognitive testing of pupils
attending begin insert a Title I school serving any of end insert grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
participating in interscholastic athletics in any of the following
sports:

(i) Baseball.

(ii) Basketball.

(iii) Cheerleading.

(iv) Field hockey.

(v) Football.

(vi) Ice hockey.

(vii) Lacrosse.

(viii) Rugby.

(ix) Soccer.

(x) Softball.

(xi) Volleyball.

(xii) Wrestling.

(B) The baseline begin insert and postinjury end insert neurocognitive testing
conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall take place at the
beginning of an athletic season before any competitions have taken
place and after any head injury, and begin insert baseline testing end insert shall be
repeated at intervals not exceeding 24 months for as long as the
athlete is enrolled at the begin delete school. end delete begin insert school, provided that the athlete
is still participating in one or more of the 12 sports listed in
subparagraph (A). The baseline and postinjury neurocognitive
testing conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall be administered
by individuals who have been trained to administer these tests.
These individuals may include, but are not necessarily limited to,
employees of a participating school district. end insert

(2) Postinjury neurocognitive testing of an athlete who is
suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in an
interscholastic athletic activity. Postinjury neurocognitive tests
shall be conducted within 72 hours of the occurrence of the injury.

(3) Training of personnel or to consult with experts on the
interpretation of postinjury test results. The parent or guardian of
each athlete participating in any of the sports listed in paragraph
(1) shall also be notified, in writing, that the results of baseline
and postinjury neurocognitive testing conducted on his or her child
are available to the child’s parent or guardian upon request. These
neurocognitive testing results may also be shared with the athlete’s
physician upon the request of the athlete’s parent or guardian.

(4) Reporting to the county office of education data that includes
an overview of the baseline neurocognitive testing conducted for
each of the sports listed in paragraph (1), and an overview of
normal, abnormal, and followup postinjury neurocognitive tests.
The data shall also include the number of athletes who discontinue
participation in the sport following a concussion and postinjury
testing.

(c) For purposes of this section, “neurocognitive testing” means
a comprehensive evaluation of a person’s cognitive status by
specific neurologic domains, including, but not necessarily limited
to, memory, attention, problem solving, language, visuospatial,
processing speed, motor, and emotion.

(d) (1) The department shall, based on the data collected by the
county offices of education located in the area of participating
school districts, prepare a report including, but not necessarily
limited to, all of the following information:

(A) The number of athletes who received the baseline tests.

(B) The number of athletes who received the postinjury tests.

(C) The number of athletes who had taken the tests and
discontinued participation in any of the sports set forth in
subdivision (b) due to concussion injuries.

(2) The report prepared pursuant to this subdivision shall be
submitted to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature
on or before December 31, 2021, and shall comply with Section
9795 of the Government Code.

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(e)

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(e) This section is contingent upon the appropriation of funds
for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute.

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begin insert ( end insert begin insert f) end insert  This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2022,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2022, deletes or extends that date.

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

Section 49475.6 is added to the Education Code, to
read:

49475.6.  

A school district, charter school, or private school
that elects to offer an interscholastic athletic program shall collect
and maintain data on traumatic brain injuries and concussions
sustained by any of its pupils during an interscholastic athletic
activity. This data shall be reported periodically to the appropriate
county office of education, but the names of the injured pupils
shall be kept confidential. The county office of education shall
compile and retain the data for summary and analysis as it deems
necessary.

begin delete SEC. 4. end delete

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

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.