I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5611 

To promote State requirements for local educational agencies and public 

elementary and secondary schools relating to the prevention and treatment of concussions suffered by students. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 15, 2020 

Mr. DESAULNIER (for himself and Mr. STAUBER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To promote State requirements for local educational agencies 

and public elementary and secondary schools relating 

to the prevention and treatment of concussions suffered 

by students. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Student 

5 Athletes From Concussions Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Part F of title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7881 et seq.) is amend4 ed by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Subpart 6—State Requirements for the Prevention 

6 and Treatment of Concussions 

7 ‘‘SEC. 8581. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning fiscal year 2021, as 

9 a condition of receiving funds under this Act for a fiscal 

10 year, a State shall, not later than July 1 of the preceding 

11 fiscal year, certify to the Secretary in accordance with sub12 section (b) that the State has in effect and is enforcing 

13 a law or regulation that, at a minimum, establishes the 

14 following requirements: 

15 ‘‘(1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY CONCUS16 SION SAFETY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Each local 

17 educational agency in the State (including each 

18 charter school that is considered a local educational 

19 agency under State law), in consultation with mem20 bers of the community in which the local educational 

21 agency is located, shall develop and implement a 

22 standard plan for concussion safety and manage23 ment for public schools served by the local edu24 cational agency that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the education of students, parents, 

2 and school personnel about concussions, includ3 ing— 

4 ‘‘(i) the training of school personnel 

5 on evidence-based concussion safety and 

6 management, including on prevention, rec7 ognition, risk, academic consequences, and 

8 response for both initial and any subse9 quent concussions; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) using, maintaining, and dissemi11 nating to students and parents release 

12 forms, treatment plans, observation, moni13 toring, and reporting forms, recordkeeping 

14 forms, and post-injury and prevention fact 

15 sheets about concussions; 

16 ‘‘(B) supports for each student recovering 

17 from a concussion, including— 

18 ‘‘(i) guiding the student in resuming 

19 participation in school-sponsored athletic 

20 activities and academic activities with the 

21 help of a multidisciplinary concussion man22 agement team, which shall include— 

23 ‘‘(I) a health care professional, 

24 the parents of such student, and other 

25 relevant school personnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) an individual who is as2 signed by the public school in which 

3 the student is enrolled to oversee and 

4 manage the recovery of the student; 

5 ‘‘(ii) providing appropriate academic 

6 accommodations aimed at progressively re7 introducing cognitive demands on such a 

8 student; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) if the student’s symptoms of 

10 concussion persist for a substantial period 

11 of time— 

12 ‘‘(I) evaluating the student in ac13 cordance with section 614 of the Indi14 viduals with Disabilities Education 

15 Act (20 U.S.C. 1414) to determine 

16 whether the student is eligible for 

17 services under part B of such Act (20 

18 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.); or 

19 ‘‘(II) evaluating whether the stu20 dent is eligible for services under sec21 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

22 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and 

23 ‘‘(C) best practices designed to ensure, 

24 with respect to concussions, the uniformity of 


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1 safety standards, treatment, and management, 

2 including— 

3 ‘‘(i) disseminating information on con4 cussion safety and management to the 

5 public; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) applying best practice and uni7 form standards for concussion safety and 

8 management to all students enrolled in the 

9 public schools served by the local edu10 cational agency. 

11 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF INFORMATION ON CONCUS12 SIONS.—Each public school in the State shall post 

13 on school grounds, in a manner that is visible to stu14 dents and school personnel, and make publicly avail15 able on the school website, information on concus16 sions that— 

17 ‘‘(A) is based on peer-reviewed scientific 

18 evidence or consensus (such as information 

19 made available by the Centers for Disease Con20 trol and Prevention); 

21 ‘‘(B) shall include— 

22 ‘‘(i) the risks posed by sustaining a 

23 concussion or multiple concussions; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the actions a student should take 

25 in response to sustaining a concussion, inVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:48 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5611.IH H5611

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1 cluding the notification of school personnel; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the signs and symptoms of a 

4 concussion; and 

5 ‘‘(C) may include— 

6 ‘‘(i) the definition of a concussion 

7 under section 8582(1); 

8 ‘‘(ii) the means available to the stu9 dent to reduce the incidence or recurrence 

10 of a concussion; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) the effects of a concussion on 

12 academic learning and performance. 

13 ‘‘(3) RESPONSE TO A CONCUSSION.—If any 

14 school personnel of a public school in the State sus15 pect that a student has sustained a concussion dur16 ing a school-sponsored athletic activity or other 

17 school-sponsored activity— 

18 ‘‘(A) the student shall be— 

19 ‘‘(i) immediately removed from par20 ticipation in such activity; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) prohibited from resuming partici22 pation in school-sponsored athletic activi23 ties— 

24 ‘‘(I) on the day the student sus25 tained the concussion; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) until the day the student is 

2 capable of resuming such participa3 tion, according to the student’s writ4 ten release, as described in paragraph 

5 (4); 

6 ‘‘(B) the school personnel shall report to 

7 the concussion management team— 

8 ‘‘(i) that the student may have sus9 tained a concussion; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) all available information with re11 spect to the student’s injury; and 

12 ‘‘(C) the concussion management team 

13 shall confirm and report to the parents of the 

14 student— 

15 ‘‘(i) the type of injury, and the date 

16 and time of the injury, suffered by the stu17 dent; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) any actions that have been taken 

19 to treat the student. 

20 ‘‘(4) RETURN TO ATHLETICS.—If a student en21 rolled in a public school in the State sustains a con22 cussion, before the student resumes participation in 

23 school-sponsored athletic activities, the relevant 

24 school personnel shall receive a written release from 

25 a health care professional, that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) may require the student to follow a 

2 plan designed to aid the student in recovering 

3 and resuming participation in such activities in 

4 a manner that— 

5 ‘‘(i) is coordinated, as appropriate, 

6 with periods of cognitive and physical rest 

7 while symptoms of a concussion persist; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) reintroduces cognitive and phys10 ical demands on the student on a progres11 sive basis so long as such increases in exer12 tion do not cause the reemergence or wors13 ening of symptoms of a concussion; and 

14 ‘‘(B) states that the student is capable of 

15 resuming participation in such activities once 

16 the student is asymptomatic. 

17 ‘‘(5) RETURN TO ACADEMICS.—If a student en18 rolled in a public school in the State has sustained 

19 a concussion, the concussion management team (as 

20 described under paragraph (1)(B)(i)) of the school 

21 shall consult with and make recommendations to rel22 evant school personnel and the student to ensure 

23 that the student is receiving the appropriate aca24 demic supports, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing for periods of cognitive rest 

2 over the course of the school day; 

3 ‘‘(B) providing modified academic assign4 ments; 

5 ‘‘(C) allowing for gradual reintroduction to 

6 cognitive demands; and 

7 ‘‘(D) other appropriate academic accom8 modations or adjustments. 

9 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The certifi10 cation required under subsection (a) shall be in writing 

11 and include a description of the law or regulation that 

12 meets the requirements of subsection (a). 

13 ‘‘SEC. 8582. DEFINITIONS. 

14 ‘‘In this subpart: 

15 ‘‘(1) CONCUSSION.—The term ‘concussion’ 

16 means a type of mild traumatic brain injury that— 

17 ‘‘(A) is caused by a blow, jolt, or motion 

18 to the head or body that causes the brain to 

19 move rapidly in the skull; 

20 ‘‘(B) disrupts normal brain functioning 

21 and alters the physiological state of the indi22 vidual, causing the individual to experience— 

23 ‘‘(i) any period of observed or self-re24 ported— 


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1 ‘‘(I) transient confusion, dis2 orientation, or altered consciousness; 

3 ‘‘(II) dysfunction of memory 

4 around the time of injury; or 

5 ‘‘(III) disruptions in gait or bal6 ance; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) symptoms that may include— 

8 ‘‘(I) physical symptoms, such as 

9 headache, fatigue, or dizziness; 

10 ‘‘(II) cognitive symptoms, such 

11 as memory disturbance or slowed 

12 thinking; 

13 ‘‘(III) emotional symptoms, such 

14 as irritability or sadness; or 

15 ‘‘(IV) difficulty sleeping; and 

16 ‘‘(C) occurs— 

17 ‘‘(i) with or without the loss of con18 sciousness; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) during participation— 

20 ‘‘(I) in a school-sponsored ath21 letic activity; or 

22 ‘‘(II) in any other activity with23 out regard to whether the activity 

24 takes place on school property or dur25 ing the school day. 


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1 ‘‘(2) HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL.—The term 

2 ‘health care professional’ means an individual— 

3 ‘‘(A) who has been educated in diagnosis 

4 and management of concussion in a pediatric 

5 population; 

6 ‘‘(B) is registered, licensed, nationally cer7 tified, or otherwise statutorily recognized by the 

8 State to provide such diagnosis and manage9 ment; and 

10 ‘‘(C) whose scope of practice and experi11 ence includes the diagnosis and management of 

12 traumatic brain injury among a pediatric popu13 lation. 

14 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC SCHOOL.—The term ‘public 

15 school’ means a public elementary school or public 

16 secondary school. 

17 ‘‘(4) SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—The term ‘school 

18 personnel’ includes teachers, principals, administra19 tors, counselors, social workers, psychologists, 

20 nurses, librarians, coaches and athletic trainers, and 

21 other support staff who are employed by a school or 

22 who perform services for the school on a contractual 

23 basis. 


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1 ‘‘(5) SCHOOL-SPONSORED ATHLETIC ACTIV2 ITY.—The term ‘school-sponsored athletic activity’ 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(A) any physical education class or pro5 gram of a public school; 

6 ‘‘(B) any athletic activity authorized by a 

7 public school that takes place during the school 

8 day on the school’s property; 

9 ‘‘(C) any activity of an extra-curricular 

10 sports team, club, or league organized by a pub11 lic school; and 

12 ‘‘(D) any recess activity of a public 

13 school.’’. 

14 SEC. 3. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS. 

15 The table of contents in section 2 of the Elementary 

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by in17 serting after the item relating to section 8574 the fol18 lowing: 

‘‘SUBPART 6—STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

OF CONCUSSIONS

‘‘Sec. 8581. Minimum State requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 8582. Definitions.’’. 

Æ 


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