KRS § 160.445 — KY Code / Title XIII / Chapter 160 / Section 160.445
160.445 Sports safety course required for high school athletics coaches -- Training and education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-specific emergency action plans
Status: in_force

160.445 Sports safety course required for high school athletics coaches -- Training

and education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-

specific emergency action plans.

(1) (a) The Kentucky Board of Education or organization or agency designated by

the board to manage interscholastic athletics shall require each interscholastic

coach to complete a sports safety course consisting of training on how to

prevent common injuries. The content of the course shall include but not be

limited to emergency planning, heat and cold illnesses, emergency

recognition, head injuries including concussions, neck injuries, facial injuries,

cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of a portable automated external

defibrillator in accordance with KRS 311.667, and principles of first aid. The

course shall also be focused on safety education and shall not include

coaching principles.

(b) The state board or its agency shall:

1. Establish a minimum timeline for a coach to complete the course;

2. Approve providers of a sports safety course;

3. Be responsible for ensuring that an approved course is taught by

qualified professionals who shall either be athletic trainers, registered

nurses, physicians, or physician's assistants licensed to practice in

Kentucky;

4. Establish the minimum qualifying score for successful course

completion; and

5. Require a coach to earn a cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification

recognized by a national accrediting body on heart health.

(c) A course shall be reviewed for updates at least once every thirty (30) months

and revised if needed.

(d) A course shall be able to be completed through hands-on or online teaching

methods in ten (10) clock hours or less.

(e) 1. A course shall include an end-of-course examination with a minimum

qualifying score for successful course completion established by the

board or its agency.

2. All coaches shall be required to take the end-of-course examination and

shall obtain at least the minimum qualifying score.

(f) At least one (1) person who has completed the course shall be at every

interscholastic athletic practice and competition.

(2) (a) The state board or its agency shall require each interscholastic coach to

complete training on how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how

to seek proper medical treatment for a person suspected of having a

concussion. The training shall be approved by the state board or its agency

and may be included in the sports safety course required under subsection

(1)(a) of this section.

(b) The board or its agency shall develop guidelines and other pertinent

information or adopt materials produced by other agencies to inform and

educate student athletes and their parents or legal guardians of the nature and

risk of concussion and head injury, including the continuance of play after

concussion or head injury. Any required physical examination and parental

authorization shall include acknowledgement of the education information

required under this paragraph.

(c) Upon request, the board or its agency shall make available to the public any

training materials developed by the board or agency used to satisfy the

requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection. The board or its agency shall

not be held liable for the use of any training materials so disseminated.

(3) (a) A student athlete suspected by an interscholastic coach, school athletic

personnel, or contest official of sustaining a concussion during an athletic

practice or competition shall be removed from play at that time and shall not

return to play prior to the ending of the practice or competition until the

athlete is evaluated to determine if a concussion has occurred. The evaluation

shall be completed by a physician or a licensed health care provider whose

scope of practice and training includes the evaluation and management of

concussions and other brain injuries. A student athlete shall not return to play

on the date of a suspected concussion absent the required evaluation.

(b) 1. Upon completion of the required evaluation, a coach:

a. May return a student athlete to play if the physician or licensed

health care provider determines that no concussion has occurred;

or

b. Shall not return a student athlete to play if the physician or

licensed health care provider determines that a concussion has

occurred.

2. If no physician or licensed health care provider described in paragraph

(a) of this subsection is present at the practice or competition to perform

the required evaluation, a coach shall not return a student athlete to play

who is suspected of sustaining a concussion. The student athlete shall

not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice or athletic

competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.

(c) A student athlete deemed to be concussed shall not return to participate in any

athletic practice or competition occurring on the day of the injury. The injured

student athlete shall not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice

or athletic competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.

(4) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics

that encourage each school that participates in interscholastic athletics to provide

access to at least one (1) portable automated external defibrillator in a public,

readily accessible, well-marked location at each school-sanctioned athletic practice

or competition, including any practice or competition held off campus.

(5) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics

conducted by local boards of education to require each school that participates in

interscholastic athletics to develop a venue-specific emergency action plan to deal

with serious injuries and acute medical conditions in which the condition of the

patient may deteriorate rapidly. The plan shall:

(a) Include a delineation of the roles of staff and emergency personnel, methods

of communication, available emergency equipment, and access to and plan for

emergency transport;

(b) If one is available, identify the location of a portable automated external

defibrillator and the procedures for its use during an emergency; and

(c) Be in writing, reviewed by the principal of the school, distributed to all

appropriate personnel, posted conspicuously at all venues, and reviewed

annually and rehearsed by simulation prior to the beginning of each athletic

season by all:

1. Licensed athletic trainers, first responders, school nurses, athletic

directors; and

2. Interscholastic coaches and volunteer coaches of each athletic team

active during that athletic season.

(6) Each school shall submit annual written certification to the state board or its agency

of the existence of a venue-specific emergency action plan that the school has

reviewed and rehearsed by simulation as required by subsection (5)(c) of this

section.

(7) Each school shall maintain complete and accurate records of its compliance with

this section and shall make the records available for review by the state board or its

agency upon request.