BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2127
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Date of Hearing: April 9, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2127 (Cooley) - As Amended: April 1, 2014
SUBJECT : Interscholastic sports: full-contact practices:
concussions and head injuries
SUMMARY : Makes legislative findings and declarations relating
to head injuries sustained by high school pupil-athletes,
particularly those who play football; prohibits high school and
middle school football teams from conducting more than two
full-contact practices, as defined, per week during the
preseason and regular season, as defined; completely prohibits
full-contact practice during the off-season, as defined; and
prohibits an athlete suspected of having sustained a concussion
from returning to the athletic activity until the athlete has
completed a return-to-play protocol, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1) Makes legislative findings and declarations related to
the significance of concussions and other mild traumatic
brain injuries, the symptoms of such brain injuries, the
additional risks children and adolescents face when it
comes to such brain injuries, and the long term effects of
cumulative sub-concussive blows to the brain.
2) Requires school districts, charter schools, or privates
schools that elect to offer and athletic program to comply
with all of the following:
a) Prohibits high school and middle school
football teams from conducting more than two
full-contact practices per week during the preseason
and regular season.
b) Limits the full-contact portion of a practice
to 90 minutes in any single day.
c) Prohibits high school and middle school
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football teams from conducting full-contact practices
during the off-season.
d) Deems team camp sessions a practice for the
purposes of this section.
3) Urges the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) to
develop and adopt rules to implement these prohibitions.
4) Defines "full-contact practice" to mean a practice where
drills or live action is conducted that involves collisions
at game speed, where players execute tackles, and other
activity that is typical of an actual tackle football game.
5) Defines "off-season" to mean the period of time
extending from the end of the regular season until 30 days
before the commencement of the next regular season.
6) Defines "preseason" to mean the period of 30 days before
the commencement of the regular season.
7) Defines "regular season" to mean the period of time from
the first interscholastic football game or scrimmage until
the completion of the final interscholastic football game
of that season.
8) Makes clear that this section does not prohibit the CIF,
an athletic league, a school, a school district, or any
other appropriate entity, from adopting and enforcing rules
intended to provide a higher standard of safety for
athletes than the standard established under this section.
9) Requires an athlete who has sustained a concussion or
head injury, as diagnosed by the licensed health care
provider, to also complete a graduated return-to-play
protocol of no less than 7 days in duration and supervised
by a licensed health care provider.
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10) Urges the CIF to work in consultation with the American
Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Society for
Sports Medicine to develop and adopt rules and protocols to
implement the return-to-play protocol requirement.
EXISTING LAW
1)Requires the governing school board of each school district to
have control of and be responsible for all aspects of the
interscholastic athletic policies, programs, and activities in
its district.
2)Permits governing boards of school districts to enter into
associations or consortia with other governing boards for the
purpose of governing regional or statewide interscholastic
athletic programs by permitting the schools under their
jurisdictions to enter into a voluntary association with other
schools for the purpose of enacting and enforcing rules
relating to eligibility for, and participation in,
interscholastic athletic programs among and between schools.
3) Defines interscholastic athletics as those policies,
programs, and activities that are formulated or executed in
conjunction with, or in contemplation of, athletic contests
between two or more schools, either public or private.
4)Requires each high school sports coach to complete a coaching
education program developed by his or her school district, or
the CIF, that meets the guidelines set forth by the High
School Coaching Education and Training Program (HSCETP).
5)Requires a school district that elects to offer an athletic
program to comply with all of the following:
a) Remove an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a
concussion or head injury in an athletic activity from the
activity for the remainder of the day.
b) Prohibit an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a
concussion or head injury in an athletic activity from
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returning to the activity until he or she is evaluated by a
licensed health care provider, trained in the management of
concussions, acting within the scope of his or her
practice.
c) Prohibit the return of the athlete to the activity until
he or she receives written clearance to return to the
activity from that licensed health care provider.
d) Require, annually, a concussion and head injury
information sheet be signed and returned by the athlete and
the athlete's parent or guardian prior to the start of the
athlete's season of practice or competition.
6)Exempts an athlete engaging in an athletic activity during the
regular school day, or as part of a physical education course,
from these requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT : This measure has been keyed non-fiscal by
Legislative Counsel
COMMENTS : In 2011, the National Football League (NFL) limited
the total number of full-contact practices to 14 for the year
with 11 of those practices conducted during the first 11 weeks
of the season (a maximum of one per week), with no full-contact
practices during the off season. Similarly, 19 states have
banned off-season full-contact high school football practices,
including Texas, which is widely seen as the mecca of high
school football. In instituting such limitations, the NFL and
state Legislatures have cited an effort to reduce exposure to
possible brain trauma from hits to the head.
In an October 19, 2009 New Yorker article, Malcolm Gladwell,
concludes that "data suggest that practice-the routine part of
the sport-can be as dangerous as the games themselves." He
looked to the dramatic helmet-to-helmet hits as well as the more
innocuous falls or contact and pointed to the cumulative
exposure:
This is a crucial point. Much of the attention in the
football world, in the past few years, has been on
concussions-on diagnosing, managing, and preventing
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them-and on figuring out how many concussions a player
can have before he should call it quits. But a
football player's real issue isn't simply with
repetitive concussive trauma. It is, as the concussion
specialist Robert Cantu argues, with repetitive
sub-concussive trauma. It's not just the handful of
big hits that matter. It's lots of little hits,
too.<1>
This bill addresses the repetitive concussive trauma and follows
the lead of the NFL, by limiting the number of full-contact
practices in which a high school football player can
participate. In so doing, this bill seeks to minimize the
opportunities for trauma.
Return -To-Play Protocol
The Return-To-Play Protocol, as described by the United States'
Center for Disease Control (CDC) consists of 5 "steps" following
a complete physical and the absence of concussion symptoms for a
period of 24 hours. The steps progress from light aerobic
exercise for 5-10 minutes, to moderate exercise, to non-contact
but more intense exercise, a reintegration into full practice,
and finally a return to play. The CDC emphasizes the need for
each of these steps to be monitored for a return of concussion
symptoms. This bill would prohibit an athlete who is suspected
of sustaining a concussion from returning to the athletic
activity in which he or she suffered the concussion until the
athlete has completed a return-to-play protocol of not less than
7 days in duration. This bill makes no reference to any
particular protocol, but instead urges the CIF to work with the
American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Society
for Sports Medicine to develop and adopt rules and protocols to
implement the protocol.
Previous Legislation :
AB 588 (Fox), Chapter 423, Statutes of 2013, applies existing
law relating to students who sustain, or are suspecting of
sustaining, a concussion during a school-sponsored athletic
activity to charter schools and private schools. This bill
passed out the Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 7 - 0.
---------------------------
<1>
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/10/19/091019fa_fact_gladw
ell?currentPage=all Accessed on March 10, 2014.
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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 HSCET,
administered by school districts. This bill passed out the
Assembly Education Committee by a vote of 10 - 1.
AB 25 (Hayashi), Chapter 465, Statutes of 2011, requires a
school district that elects to offer athletic programs to
immediately remove 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. This measure was
passed out of this committee by a vote of 9-0.
AB 1449 (Hayashi) (2012), held in the Assembly Education
Committee, requires the SPI to develop and make available a
sample concussion and head injury information sheet for use by
school districts.
AB 1646 (Hayashi) (2010), held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file, requires training for coaches to be
able to identify symptoms of head and neck injury. This measure
was passed out of this committee by a vote of 6-2.
AB 1647 (Hayashi) (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) (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,
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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) (2009), held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file, requires training for coaches to be
able to identify symptoms of head and neck injury. This measure
was passed out of this committee by a vote of 8-1.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Academy of Pediatrics
Brain Injury Association
California Psychological Association
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Jill Rice / ED. / (916) 319-2087