I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4517 
To amend section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
certain institutions of higher education to develop and implement a 
venue-specific heat-related illnesses emergency action plan, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 17, 2025 
Mr. MFUME (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. ELFRETH, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT 
of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Education and Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
to require certain institutions of higher education to de-
velop and implement a venue-specific heat-related ill-
nesses emergency action plan, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Jordan McNair Stu-
dent Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) Heat-related illnesses are a serious medical 
condition that result from the body’s inability to cool 
itself down in extremely hot environments. Heat-re-
lated illnesses include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, 
heat cramps, heat syncope, heat rash, and muscle 
breakdown. When experiencing heat illness, patients 
may exhibit an array of symptoms including but not 
limited to confusion, slurred speech, unconscious-
ness, vomiting, seizures, fatigue, elevated body tem-
perature, fainting, dizziness, or muscle pain. 
(2) The Centers for Disease Control and Pre-
vention reported over 700 heat-related deaths in the 
United States from 2004 to 2018. Heat is the lead-
ing climate-related cause of deaths, and rising tem-
peratures pose a serious risk to student athletes par-
ticipating in outdoor sports. 
(3) Jordan McNair, a highly accomplished high 
school football player from Maryland, received schol-
arship offers from many competitive university foot-
ball programs. He chose to continue his athletic and 
academic career at the University of Maryland. 
(4) On May 29, 2018, Jordan McNair collapsed 
during a workout on the University of Maryland’s 
football field in the 81 degrees Fahrenheit heat. 
McNair was suffering from exertional heatstroke 
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and was unable to remain in an upright position 
without assistance from his teammates, medical 
staff, or coaching staff. 
(5) Despite being a student athlete at a well- 
funded division I university, Jordan McNair received 
inadequate heat-related illness treatment once he 
was escorted off the field and into the athletic train-
ing room. Because medical staff were unable to re-
verse McNair’s core body temperature, the illness es-
calated to a seizure and respiratory distress. 
(6) Most medical professionals advise patients 
to receive treatment within 30 minutes of initial heat 
illness symptoms. Over 90 minutes passed from the 
time McNair displayed initial symptoms of exertional 
heatstroke to the time he finally received adequate 
care from the nearest hospital. 
(7) By the time Jordan McNair arrived at the 
hospital, his core body temperature had reached a 
life-threatening temperature of 106 degrees Fahr-
enheit. 
(8) On June 13, 2018, two weeks after col-
lapsing on the football field at practice, Jordan 
McNair died from symptoms of exertional heat-
stroke. 
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(9) Two extensive external investigations of the 
University of Maryland’s football program concluded 
that the program’s medical staff failed to promptly 
intervene, diagnose, and treat Jordan McNair’s exer-
tional heatstroke symptoms. 
(10) According to an independent medical re-
port, University staff failed to assess Jordan 
McNair’s vitals, recognize and monitor heat-related 
illness symptoms, provide adequate cooling devices 
and respiratory aids, and generate an emergency 
plan to coordinate with emergency responders. 
(11) The University of Maryland has taken sig-
nificant steps to prevent and treat heat-related inju-
ries among their student athletes, making cold water 
immersion tubs available at every practice and game, 
installing and maintaining readily accessible auto-
matic defibrillators at every venue, increasing the 
training and reporting structure of athletic trainers, 
among other reforms in line with the priorities of 
this Act. 
(12) The McNair family is devoted to honoring 
Jordan’s legacy and founded the Jordan McNair 
Foundation, which provides an educational tool to 
help coaches, student athletes, and parents identify 
symptoms of heatstroke and heat-related illnesses. 
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(13) Heat-related illnesses and fatalities are 
preventable if caught early. Medical staff, coaches, 
and athletes must be knowledgeable of the warning 
signs for heat-related illness in order to protect stu-
dent athletes from injury, and even death. 
SEC. 3. VENUE-SPECIFIC HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES EMER-
GENCY ACTION PLAN REQUIREMENT FOR IN-
STITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. 
Section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1092) is amended by inserting at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(n) VENUE-SPECIFIC HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES 
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 
education that is participating in any program under 
this title and that is a member of an athletic asso-
ciation or athletic conference shall— 
‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this subsection and in consulta-
tion with local emergency responders, develop 
and implement a venue-specific heat-related ill-
nesses emergency action plan, which shall in-
clude a plan for the operation and use of auto-
matic external defibrillators and cold water im-
mersion equipment; and 
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‘‘(B) not later than 1 year after the date 
that such emergency action plan is first imple-
mented, and on an annual basis thereafter, sub-
mit to the Secretary and authorizing commit-
tees a report that demonstrates compliance with 
the requirements of this subsection with respect 
to the preceding year. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—An emergency action 
plan developed and implemented under paragraph 
(1), with respect to an institution of higher edu-
cation, shall— 
‘‘(A) include a symptom identification 
structure and a coordination of care plan for 
student athletes exhibiting signs of heat-related 
illness, and be visibly posted in each— 
‘‘(i) locker room; 
‘‘(ii) athletic training facility; 
‘‘(iii) weight room; and 
‘‘(iv) outdoor sports complex and sta-
dium; 
‘‘(B) be made available on the athletic pro-
gram website or public website of the institution 
of higher education at the beginning of each 
academic year; 
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‘‘(C) be distributed to local emergency re-
sponders; and 
‘‘(D) before the start of practical training 
for each academic year, be distributed to, and 
practiced in-person by all of the following indi-
viduals at the institution of higher education: 
‘‘(i) Student athletes. 
‘‘(ii) Certified athletic trainers. 
‘‘(iii) Team physicians. 
‘‘(iv) Athletic training students. 
‘‘(v) Athletic administrators. 
‘‘(vi) Coaches. 
‘‘(vii) Institutional safety personnel. 
‘‘(viii) Legal counsel. 
‘‘(3) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In developing an 
emergency action plan under paragraph (1), an in-
stitution of higher education shall consider— 
‘‘(A) including guidelines by the Wet-Bulb 
Globe Temperature index to assess environ-
mental condition and heat stress prevention for 
student athletes; 
‘‘(B) having a readily accessible and prop-
erly maintained automatic external defibrillator 
within 3 minutes of each sporting venue; and 
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‘‘(C) including the locations of each auto-
matic external defibrillator in such plan. 
‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case 
of a facility described in paragraph (2)(A) that is 
undergoing a major physical alteration that would 
affect the implementation of a requirement of para-
graph (2), such requirement may be adjusted with 
respect to such facility.’’. 
SEC. 4. VENUE-SPECIFIC HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES EMER-
GENCY ACTION PLAN REQUIREMENT FOR 
SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 
Subpart 2 of part F of title VIII of the Elementary 
and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7901 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 8549D. VENUE-SPECIFIC HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES 
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN REQUIREMENT 
FOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receipt of 
funds under this Act, each secondary school that has a 
student athletics program shall— 
‘‘(1) not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of this subsection and in consultation with 
local emergency responders, develop and implement 
a venue-specific heat-related illnesses emergency ac-
tion plan, which shall include a plan for the oper-
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ation and use of automatic external defibrillators 
and cold water immersion equipment; and 
‘‘(2) not later than 1 year after the date that 
such emergency action plan is first implemented, 
and on an annual basis thereafter, submit to the 
Secretary and authorizing committees a report that 
demonstrates compliance with the requirements of 
this subsection with respect to the preceding year. 
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—An emergency action plan de-
veloped and implemented under subsection (a), with re-
spect to a secondary school, shall— 
‘‘(1) include a symptom identification structure 
and a coordination of care plan for student athletes 
exhibiting signs of heat-related illness, and be visibly 
posted in each— 
‘‘(A) locker room; 
‘‘(B) athletic training facility; 
‘‘(C) weight room; and 
‘‘(D) outdoor sports complex and stadium; 
‘‘(2) be made available on the athletic program 
website or public website of the secondary school at 
the beginning of each academic year; 
‘‘(3) be distributed to local emergency respond-
ers; and 
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‘‘(4) before the start of practical training for 
each academic year, be distributed to, and practiced 
in-person by all of the following individuals at the 
secondary school: 
‘‘(A) Student athletes. 
‘‘(B) Certified athletic trainers. 
‘‘(C) Team physicians. 
‘‘(D) Athletic training students. 
‘‘(E) Athletic administrators. 
‘‘(F) Coaches. 
‘‘(G) Institutional safety personnel. 
‘‘(H) Legal counsel. 
‘‘(I) Any other individuals determined to 
be relevant by the secondary school. 
‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In developing an emer-
gency action plan under subsection (a), a secondary school 
shall consider— 
‘‘(1) including guidelines by the Wet-Bulb 
Globe Temperature index to assess environmental 
condition and heat stress prevention for student ath-
letes; 
‘‘(2) having a readily accessible and properly 
maintained automatic external defibrillator within 3 
minutes of each sporting venue; and 
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