I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3532 

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 

NOVEMBER 19, 2013 

Mr. BISHOP of New York (for himself and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Education and the Workforce 

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 2013’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

2 Part E of title IX of the Elementary and Secondary 

3 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) by striking the heading relating to subpart 

6 2 and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘Subpart 3—Other Provisions’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) by inserting after subpart 1, the following 

10 new subpart: 

11 ‘‘Subpart 2—State Requirements for the Prevention 

12 and Treatment of Concussions 

13 ‘‘SEC. 9511. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning fiscal year 2015, as 

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

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

17 fiscal year, certify to the Secretary in accordance with sub18 section (b) that the State has in effect and is enforcing 

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

20 following requirements: 

21 ‘‘(1) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY CONCUS22 SION SAFETY AND MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Each local 

23 educational agency in the State (including each 

24 charter school that is considered a local educational 

25 agency under State law), in consultation with mem26 bers of the community in which the local educational 


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1 agency is located, shall develop and implement a 

2 standard plan for concussion safety and manage3 ment for public schools served by the local edu4 cational agency that includes— 

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

6 and school personnel about concussions, includ7 ing— 

8 ‘‘(i) the training of school personnel 

9 on evidence-based concussion safety and 

10 management, including on prevention, rec11 ognition, risk, academic consequences, and 

12 response for both initial and any subse13 quent concussions; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) using, maintaining, and dissemi15 nating to students and parents release 

16 forms, treatment plans, observation, moni17 toring, and reporting forms, recordkeeping 

18 forms, and post-injury and prevention fact 

19 sheets about concussions; 

20 ‘‘(B) supports for each student recovering 

21 from a concussion, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) guiding the student in resuming 

23 participation in school-sponsored athletic 

24 activities and academic activities with the 


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1 help of a multidisciplinary concussion man2 agement team, which shall include— 

3 ‘‘(I) a health care professional, 

4 the parents of such student, and other 

5 relevant school personnel; and 

6 ‘‘(II) an individual who is as7 signed by the public school in which 

8 the student is enrolled to oversee and 

9 manage the recovery of the student; 

10 ‘‘(ii) providing appropriate academic 

11 accommodations aimed at progressively re12 introducing cognitive demands on such a 

13 student; and 

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

15 concussion persist for a substantial period 

16 of time— 

17 ‘‘(I) evaluating the student in ac18 cordance with section 614 of the Indi19 vidual with Disabilities Education Act 

20 (20 U.S.C. 1414) to determine wheth21 er the student is eligible for services 

22 under part B of such Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1411 et seq.); or 

24 ‘‘(II) evaluating whether the stu25 dent is eligible for services under secVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Nov 21, 2013 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3532.IH H3532

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1 tion 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

2 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794); and 

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

4 with respect to concussions, the uniformity of 

5 safety standards, treatment, and management, 

6 including— 

7 ‘‘(i) disseminating information on con8 cussion safety and management to the 

9 public; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) applying best practice and uni11 form standards for concussion safety and 

12 management to all students enrolled in the 

13 public schools served by the local edu14 cational agency. 

15 ‘‘(2) POSTING OF INFORMATION ON CONCUS16 SIONS.—Each public school in the State shall post 

17 on school grounds, in a manner that is visible to stu18 dents and school personnel, and make publicly avail19 able on the school website, information on concus20 sions that— 

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

22 evidence or consensus (such as information 

23 made available by the Centers for Disease Con24 trol and Prevention); 

25 ‘‘(B) shall include— 


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

2 concussion or multiple concussions; 

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

4 in response to sustaining a concussion, in5 cluding the notification of school personnel; 

6 and 

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

8 concussion; and 

9 ‘‘(C) may include— 

10 ‘‘(i) the definition of a concussion 

11 under section 9512(1); 

12 ‘‘(ii) the means available to the stu13 dent to reduce the incidence or recurrence 

14 of a concussion; and 

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

16 academic learning and performance. 

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

18 school personnel of a public school in the State sus19 pect that a student has sustained a concussion dur20 ing a school-sponsored athletic activity or other 

21 school-sponsored activity— 

22 ‘‘(A) the student shall be— 

23 ‘‘(i) immediately removed from par24 ticipation in such activity; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) prohibited from resuming partici2 pation in school-sponsored athletic activi3 ties— 

4 ‘‘(I) on the day the student sus5 tained the concussion; and 

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

7 capable of resuming such participa8 tion, according to the student’s writ9 ten release, as described in paragraph 

10 (4); 

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

12 the concussion management team— 

13 ‘‘(i) that the student may have sus14 tained a concussion; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) all available information with re16 spect to the student’s injury; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the concussion management team 

18 shall confirm and report to the parents of the 

19 student— 

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

21 and time of the injury, suffered by the stu22 dent; and 

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

24 to treat the student. 


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1 ‘‘(4) RETURN TO ATHLETICS.—If a student en2 rolled in a public school in the State sustains a con3 cussion, before the student resumes participation in 

4 school-sponsored athletic activities, the relevant 

5 school personnel shall receive a written release from 

6 a health care professional, that— 

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

8 plan designed to aid the student in recovering 

9 and resuming participation in such activities in 

10 a manner that— 

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

12 with periods of cognitive and physical rest 

13 while symptoms of a concussion persist; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) reintroduces cognitive and phys16 ical demands on the student on a progres17 sive basis so long as such increases in exer18 tion do not cause the reemergence or wors19 ening of symptoms of a concussion; and 

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

21 resuming participation in such activities once 

22 the student is asymptomatic. 

23 ‘‘(5) RETURN TO ACADEMICS.—If a student en24 rolled in a public school in the State has sustained 

25 a concussion, the concussion management team (as 


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

2 shall consult with and make recommendations to rel3 evant school personnel and the student to ensure 

4 that the student is receiving the appropriate aca5 demic supports, including— 

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

7 over the course of the school day; 

8 ‘‘(B) providing modified academic assign9 ments; 

10 ‘‘(C) allowing for gradual reintroduction to 

11 cognitive demands; and 

12 ‘‘(D) other appropriate academic accom13 modations or adjustments. 

14 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—The certifi15 cation required under subsection (a) shall be in writing 

16 and include a description of the law or regulation that 

17 meets the requirements of subsection (a). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 9512. DEFINITIONS. 

19 ‘‘In this subpart: 

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

21 means a type of mild traumatic brain injury that— 

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

23 to the head or body that causes the brain to 

24 move rapidly in the skull; 


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1 ‘‘(B) disrupts normal brain functioning 

2 and alters the physiological state of the indi3 vidual, causing the individual to experience— 

4 ‘‘(i) any period of observed or self-re5 ported— 

6 ‘‘(I) transient confusion, dis7 orientation, or altered consciousness; 

8 ‘‘(II) dysfunction of memory 

9 around the time of injury; or 

10 ‘‘(III) disruptions in gait or bal11 ance; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) symptoms that may include— 

13 ‘‘(I) physical symptoms, such as 

14 headache, fatigue, or dizziness; 

15 ‘‘(II) cognitive symptoms, such 

16 as memory disturbance or slowed 

17 thinking; 

18 ‘‘(III) emotional symptoms, such 

19 as irritability or sadness; or 

20 ‘‘(IV) difficulty sleeping; and 

21 ‘‘(C) occurs— 

22 ‘‘(i) with or without the loss of con23 sciousness; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) during participation— 


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1 ‘‘(I) in a school-sponsored ath2 letic activity; or 

3 ‘‘(II) in any other activity with4 out regard to whether the activity 

5 takes place on school property or dur6 ing the school day. 

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

8 ‘health care professional’ means a physician (includ9 ing a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medi10 cine), nurse, athletic trainer, physical therapist, 

11 neuropsychologist, or other qualified individual— 

12 ‘‘(A) who is registered, licensed, certified, 

13 or otherwise statutorily recognized by the State 

14 to provide medical treatment; and 

15 ‘‘(B) whose scope of practice and experi16 ence includes the diagnosis and management of 

17 traumatic brain injury among a pediatric popu18 lation. 

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

20 school’ means a public elementary school or public 

21 secondary school. 

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

23 personnel’ has the meaning given such term in sec24 tion 4151, except that such term includes coaches 

25 and athletic trainers. 


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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— 

17 (1) by striking the item relating to the heading 

18 of subpart 2 of part E of title IX and inserting the 

19 following new item: 

‘‘SUBPART 3—GENERAL PROVISIONS’’; 

20 and 

21 (2) by inserting after the item relating to sec22 tion 9506, the following new items: 

‘‘SUBPART 2—STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

OF CONCUSSIONS


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‘‘Sec. 9511. Minimum State requirements. 

‘‘Sec. 9512. Definitions.’’. 

Æ 


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