I 
117TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9698 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require institutions of 
higher education to create a venue-specific heat emergency action plan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 27, 2022 
Mr. MFUME introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require 
institutions of higher education to create a venue-specific 
heat emergency action plan. 
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: 
(1) Heat-related illnesses are serious medical 
conditions that result from the body’s inability to 
cool itself down in extremely hot environments. 
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Heat-related illnesses include heatstroke, heat ex-
haustion, heat cramps, heat syncope, heat rash, and 
muscle breakdown. When experiencing heat illness, 
patients may exhibit an array of symptoms, includ-
ing confusion, slurred speech, unconsciousness, sei-
zures, fatigue, elevated body temperature, 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 heatstroke and was un-
able to remain in an upright position without assist-
ance from his teammates and athletic trainers. 
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(5) Despite being a student-athlete at a well- 
funded Division I university, Jordan McNair re-
ceived inadequate heat-related illness treatment once 
he was escorted off the field and into the training 
room. Because athletic trainers 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 heat-
stroke 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 heatstroke. 
(9) Two extensive external investigations of the 
University of Maryland’s football program concluded 
that the program’s athletic training staff failed to 
promptly intervene, diagnose, and treat Jordan 
McNair’s heatstroke symptoms. 
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(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 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. 
(12) 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 EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN 
REQUIREMENT. 
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 EMERGENCY ACTION 
PLAN REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each institution of higher 
education that is participating in any program under 
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this title and that is a member of an athletic asso-
ciation or athletic conference, shall, beginning not 
later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 
this subsection, develop and implement a venue-spe-
cific heat emergency action plan for the operation 
and use of automatic external defibrillators and cold 
water immersion equipment. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A venue-specific heat 
emergency action plan developed and implemented 
under paragraph (1), with respect to an institution 
of higher education, shall— 
‘‘(A) include a symptom identification 
structure and a plan for staff and emergency 
responders to coordinate care for student-ath-
letes; 
‘‘(B) be posted and visible in each— 
‘‘(i) locker room; 
‘‘(ii) athletic training facility; 
‘‘(iii) weight room; and 
‘‘(iv) outdoor sports complex and sta-
dium; 
‘‘(C) be made available on the school’s ath-
letic program website or public website of the 
institution of higher education at the beginning 
of each academic year; 
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‘‘(D) be distributed to medical staff and 
coaching staff; and 
‘‘(E) be rehearsed in-person every year by 
medical staff, coaching staff, and student-ath-
letes before the start of in-person training. 
‘‘(3) ANNUAL REPORT.—An institution of high-
er education that is subject to the requirements of 
paragraph (1) during a 12-month period (or during 
a portion of such period) ending August 31 of a year 
shall submit to the Secretary and authorizing com-
mittees a report to demonstrate compliance during 
such period by not later than July 1 of the following 
year.’’. 
Æ 
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