Jordan McNair Student-Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act
Bill: H.R.9698 | Sponsor: Rep. Mfume, Kweisi (D-MD)
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Jordan McNair Student-Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act
This bill requires each institution of higher education that participates in federal student-aid programs and is a member of an athletic association or athletic conference to develop and implement a venue-specific heat emergency action plan for operating and using automatic external defibrillators and cold-water immersion equipment.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Jordan McNair Student-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. Heat-related illnesses include 
        heatstroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat syncope, heat 
        rash, and muscle breakdown. When experiencing heat illness, 
        patients may exhibit an array of symptoms, including confusion, 
        slurred speech, unconsciousness, seizures, fatigue, elevated 
        body temperature, fainting, dizziness, or muscle pain.
            (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 
        over 700 heat-related deaths in the United States from 2004 to 
        2018. Heat is the leading climate-related cause of deaths, and 
        rising temperatures pose a serious risk to student-athletes 
        participating in outdoor sports.
            (3) Jordan McNair, a highly accomplished high school 
        football player from Maryland, received scholarship offers from 
        many competitive university football 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 unable to remain in an upright position 
        without assistance from his teammates and athletic trainers.
            (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 training room. Because athletic trainers were 
        unable to reverse McNair's core body temperature, the illness 
        escalated 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 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 Fahrenheit.
            (8) On June 13, 2018, two weeks after collapsing 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.
            (10) According to an independent medical report, 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 student-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 following 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 this title and that 
        is a member of an athletic association or athletic conference, 
        shall, beginning not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this subsection, develop and implement a venue-
        specific 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-athletes;
                    ``(B) be posted and visible in each--
                            ``(i) locker room;
                            ``(ii) athletic training facility;
                            ``(iii) weight room; and
                            ``(iv) outdoor sports complex and stadium;
                    ``(C) be made available on the school's athletic 
                program website or public website of the institution of 
                higher education at the beginning of each academic 
                year;
                    ``(D) be distributed to medical staff and coaching 
                staff; and
                    ``(E) be rehearsed in-person every year by medical 
                staff, coaching staff, and student-athletes before the 
                start of in-person training.
            ``(3) Annual report.--An institution of higher 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 committees a report to demonstrate compliance 
        during such period by not later than July 1 of the following 
        year.''.
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