BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2127
AUTHOR: Cooley
AMENDED: May 1, 2014
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 4, 2014
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Full-contact football practices.
SUMMARY
This bill limits full-contact football practices and
requires a student-athlete who has suffered a concussion or
head injury to complete a graduated return-to-play protocol
of at least seven days.
BACKGROUND
Current law requires school districts that elect to offer
athletics to:
1) Immediately remove from athletic activity for the
remainder of the day an athlete who is suspected of
sustaining a concussion or head injury. The athlete
must not be permitted to return to the activity until
he or she has been evaluated by a licensed health care
provider, and receives a written clearance from the
health care provider to return to the activity.
2) Annually require a concussion and head injury
information sheet to be signed by the athlete's parent
prior to participation in athletic activity.
(Education Code � 49475)
Current law requires each high school sports coach to
complete a coaching education program developed by the
employing school district or the California Interscholastic
Federation that meets specified guidelines. (EC � 49032)
Current law requires high school athletic coaches to
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complete training regarding the identification of
concussions. (EC � 35179.1)
ANALYSIS
This bill limits full-contact football practices and
requires a student-athlete who has suffered a concussion or
head injury to complete a graduated return-to-play protocol
of at least seven days. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires a school district, charter school, or private
school that elects to offer an athletic program to
comply with all of the following:
a) Prohibit a high school or middle
school football team from conducting more than
two full-contact practices per week during the
preseason and regular season.
b) Prohibit the full-contact portion
of a practice from exceeding 90 minutes in any
single day.
c) Prohibit a high school or middle
school football team from holding a full-contact
practice during the off-season.
2) Requires the student athlete, if a licensed health
care provider determines that the athlete sustained a
concussion or head injury, to complete a graduated
return-to-play protocol of at least seven days under
the supervision of a licensed health care provider.
3) Defines:
a) "Full-contact practice" as 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.
b) "Off-season" as a period extending
from the end of the regular season until 30 days
before the commencement of the next regular
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season.
c) "Preseason" as a period of 30 days
before the beginning of the regular season.
d) "Regular season" as the period
from the first interscholastic football game or
scrimmage until the completion of the final
interscholastic football game of that season.
4) Provides that a team camp session is deemed to be a
practice.
5) Urges the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
to develop and adopt rules to implement the provisions
of this bill, and 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 a graduated
return-to-play protocol.
6) Provides that this bill does not prohibit the CIF, an
interscholastic 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 by this bill.
7) States legislative findings and declarations relative
to student athletes and concussions.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Limits on practice and full-contact . The California
Interscholastic Federation (CIF) governs competitive
athletics in grades 9-12. The CIF is comprised of 10
Section across the State; each Section has a governing
body that, among other things, adopts rules and
regulations in addition to those promulgated by the
State CIF. Each Section establishes its own rules
governing the scope of team practice. It appears that
five of the Sections allow football teams to conduct
full-contact practice during the off-season while five
do not allow full-contact practice during the
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off-season. For example:
a) The Sac-Joaquin Section allows full-contact
football camp during the summer.
b) The Southern Section prohibits full-contact
practice or camps during the summer.
The CIF recently adopted Bylaw 506 which, effective
August 1, 2014, limits all athletic teams to no more
than 18 hours of practice time per week and no more
than four hours in any single day.
2) Other leagues . Pop Warner football limits
full-contact drills to one-third of practice time
(either 40 minutes total of each practice or 1/3 of
total weekly practice time), and prohibits full speed
head-on blocking or tackling drills in which the
players line up more than 3 yards apart.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) limits
live-hitting practices to a maximum of five days a
week during the season. The NCAA permits 15 spring
practices and allows live contact in 80% of those
practices, and allows tackling in more than 50% of the
practices. The Pac-12 limits teams to two
full-contact practices per week during the regular
season and spring practice. The Ivy League adopted a
similar policy.
The State of Texas limits full-contact football practice to
90 minutes per week during the regular and post
season, but allows unlimited full-contact practice
during the 3-4 weeks prior to the first game of the
season.
The National Football League (NFL) prohibits players from
wearing pads or having live contact during the
nine-week offseason practice program. The NFL limits
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.
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3) Graduated return-to-play protocol . This bill requires
a student who has been diagnosed as having a
concussion or head injury to complete a graduated
return-to-play protocol of at least seven days under
the supervision of a licensed health care provider.
This bill does not define or provide criteria for a
graduated return-to-play protocol; models vary,
including those consisting of steps following a
complete physical and the absence of concussion
symptoms for 24 hours (progressing 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). At
a minimum, students who have concussed would be
prohibited from participating in athletics for at
least seven days. This bill 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 statewide rules and protocols
regarding graduated return-to-play.
4) Licensed health care provider . Current law requires
an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion
or head injury to be immediately removed from athletic
activity and is not be permitted to return to the
activity until he or she has been evaluated by a
licensed health care provider, and receives a written
clearance from the health care provider to return to
the activity. Current law requires the licensed
health care provider to be trained in the management
of concussions and act within the scope of his or her
practice. A Question & Answer is listed below CIF
Bylaw 313 states that the scope of practice for a
"licensed health care provider" will limit the
evaluation to a medical doctor or doctor of
osteopathy.
SUPPORT
American Academy of Neurology
California Interscholastic Federation
California Psychological Association
California State PTA
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OPPOSITION
None on file