Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2021
Bill: S.3043 | Sponsor: Sen. Durbin, Richard J. (D-IL)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Protecting Student Athletes from Concussions Act of 2021
This bill conditions each state's receipt of federal funds on the state's establishment of specified minimum requirements for the prevention and treatment of concussions in school sports.

To promote minimum State requirements for the prevention and treatment 
of concussions caused by participation in school sports, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Student Athletes from 
Concussions Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. MINIMUM STATE REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Minimum Requirements.--Each State that receives funds under the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) 
and does not meet the requirements described in this section, as of the 
date of enactment of this Act, shall, not later than the last day of 
the fifth full fiscal year after the date of enactment of this Act 
(referred to in this Act as the ``compliance deadline''), enact 
legislation or issue regulations establishing the following minimum 
requirements:
            (1) Local educational agency concussion safety and 
        management plan.--Each local educational agency in the State, 
        in consultation with members of the community in which such 
        agency is located, shall develop and implement a standard plan 
        for concussion safety and management that--
                    (A) educates students, parents, and school 
                personnel about concussions, through activities such 
                as--
                            (i) training school personnel, including 
                        coaches, teachers, athletic trainers, related 
                        services personnel, and school nurses, on 
                        concussion safety and management, including 
                        training on the prevention, recognition, and 
                        academic consequences of concussions and 
                        response to concussions; and
                            (ii) using, maintaining, and disseminating 
                        to students and parents--
                                    (I) release forms and other 
                                appropriate forms for reporting and 
                                record keeping;
                                    (II) treatment plans; and
                                    (III) prevention and post-injury 
                                observation and monitoring fact sheets 
                                about concussion;
                    (B) encourages supports, where feasible, for a 
                student recovering from a concussion (regardless of 
                whether or not the concussion occurred during school-
                sponsored activities, during school hours, on school 
                property, or during an athletic activity), such as--
                            (i) guiding the student in resuming 
                        participation in athletic activity and academic 
                        activities with the help of a multi-
                        disciplinary concussion management team, which 
                        may include--
                                    (I) a health care professional, the 
                                parents of such student, a school 
                                nurse, relevant related services 
                                personnel, and other relevant school 
                                personnel; and
                                    (II) an individual who is assigned 
                                by a public school to oversee and 
                                manage the recovery of such student; 
                                and
                            (ii) providing appropriate academic 
                        accommodations aimed at progressively 
                        reintroducing cognitive demands on the student; 
                        and
                    (C) encourages the use of best practices designed 
                to ensure, with respect to concussions, the uniformity 
                of safety standards, treatment, and management, such 
                as--
                            (i) disseminating information on concussion 
                        safety and management to the public; and
                            (ii) applying uniform best practice 
                        standards for concussion safety and management 
                        to all students enrolled in public schools.
            (2) Posting of information on concussions.--Each public 
        elementary school and each public secondary school shall post 
        on school grounds, in a manner that is visible to students and 
        school personnel, and make publicly available on the school 
        website, information on concussions that--
                    (A) is based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence 
                (such as information made available by the Centers for 
                Disease Control and Prevention);
                    (B) shall include information on--
                            (i) the risks posed by sustaining a 
                        concussion;
                            (ii) the actions a student should take in 
                        response to sustaining a concussion, including 
                        the notification of school personnel; and
                            (iii) the signs and symptoms of a 
                        concussion; and
                    (C) may include information on--
                            (i) the definition of a concussion;
                            (ii) the means available to the student to 
                        reduce the incidence or recurrence of a 
                        concussion; and
                            (iii) the effects of a concussion on 
                        academic learning and performance.
            (3) Response to concussion.--If an individual designated 
        from among school personnel for purposes of this Act, one of 
        whom must be in attendance at every school-sponsored activity, 
        suspects that a student has sustained a concussion (regardless 
        of whether or not the concussion occurred during school-
        sponsored activities, during school hours, on school property, 
        or during an athletic activity)--
                    (A) the student shall be--
                            (i) immediately removed from participation 
                        in a school-sponsored athletic activity; and
                            (ii) prohibited from returning to 
                        participate in a school-sponsored athletic 
                        activity on the day that student is removed 
                        from such participation; and
                    (B) the designated individual shall report to the 
                parent or guardian of such student--
                            (i) any information that the designated 
                        school employee is aware of regarding the date, 
                        time, and type of the injury suffered by such 
                        student (regardless of where, when, or how a 
                        concussion may have occurred); and
                            (ii) any actions taken to treat such 
                        student.
            (4) Return to athletics.--If a student has sustained a 
        concussion (regardless of whether or not the concussion 
        occurred during school-sponsored activities, during school 
        hours, on school property, or during an athletic activity), 
        before such student resumes participation in school-sponsored 
        athletic activities, the school shall receive a written release 
        from a health care professional, that--
                    (A) states that the student is capable of resuming 
                participation in such activities; and
                    (B) may require the student to follow a plan 
                designed to aid the student in recovering and resuming 
                participation in such activities in a manner that--
                            (i) is coordinated, as appropriate, with 
                        periods of cognitive and physical rest while 
                        symptoms of a concussion persist; and
                            (ii) reintroduces cognitive and physical 
                        demands on such student on a progressive basis 
                        only as such increases in exertion do not cause 
                        the reemergence or worsening of symptoms of a 
                        concussion.
    (b) Noncompliance.--
            (1) First year.--If a State described in subsection (a) 
        fails to comply with subsection (a) by the compliance deadline, 
        the Secretary of Education shall reduce by 5 percent the amount 
        of funds the State receives under the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) for the first 
        fiscal year following the compliance deadline.
            (2) Succeeding years.--If the State fails to so comply by 
        the last day of any fiscal year following the compliance 
        deadline, the Secretary of Education shall reduce by 10 percent 
        the amount of funds the State receives under that Act for the 
        following fiscal year.
            (3) Notification of noncompliance.--Prior to reducing any 
        funds that a State receives under the Elementary and Secondary 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.) in accordance 
        with this subsection, the Secretary of Education shall provide 
        a written notification of the intended reduction of funds to 
        the State and to the appropriate committees of Congress.

SEC. 3. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect civil or criminal 
liability under Federal or State law.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Concussion.--The term ``concussion'' means a type of 
        mild traumatic brain injury that--
                    (A) is caused by a blow, jolt, or motion to the 
                head or body that causes the brain to move rapidly in 
                the skull;
                    (B) disrupts normal brain functioning and alters 
                the mental state of the individual, causing the 
                individual to experience--
                            (i) any period of observed or self-
                        reported--
                                    (I) transient confusion, 
                                disorientation, or impaired 
                                consciousness;
                                    (II) dysfunction of memory around 
                                the time of injury; or
                                    (III) loss of consciousness lasting 
                                less than 30 minutes; or
                            (ii) any 1 of 4 types of symptoms, 
                        including--
                                    (I) physical symptoms, such as 
                                headache, fatigue, or dizziness;
                                    (II) cognitive symptoms, such as 
                                memory disturbance or slowed thinking;
                                    (III) emotional symptoms, such as 
                                irritability or sadness; or
                                    (IV) difficulty sleeping; and
                    (C) can occur--
                            (i) with or without the loss of 
                        consciousness; and
                            (ii) during participation in any organized 
                        sport or recreational activity.
            (2) Health care professional.--The term ``health care 
        professional''--
                    (A) means an individual who has been trained in 
                diagnosis and management of concussion in a pediatric 
                population; and
                    (B) is registered, licensed, certified, or 
                otherwise statutorily recognized by the State to 
                provide such diagnosis and management.
            (3) Local educational agency; state.--The terms ``local 
        educational agency'' and ``State'' have the meanings given such 
        terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
        Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
            (4) Related services personnel.--The term ``related 
        services personnel'' means individuals who provide related 
        services, as defined under section 602 of the Individuals with 
        Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401).
            (5) School-sponsored athletic activity.--The term ``school-
        sponsored athletic activity'' means--
                    (A) any physical education class or program of a 
                school;
                    (B) any athletic activity authorized during the 
                school day on school grounds that is not an 
                instructional activity;
                    (C) any extra-curricular sports team, club, or 
                league organized by a school on or off school grounds; 
                and
                    (D) any recess activity.
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