[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 8, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4862-S4863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2143. Mr. DURBIN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2089 submitted by Mr. Alexander (for himself and Mrs.
Murray) to the bill S. 1177, to reauthorize the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 to ensure that every child achieves;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of title X, insert the following:
PART C--PROTECTING STUDENT ATHLETES FROM CONCUSSIONS
SECTION 10301. SHORT TITLE.
This part may be cited as the ``Protecting Student Athletes
from Concussions Act of 2015''.
SEC. 10302. 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 part, shall, not later than the last day of the fifth
full fiscal year after the date of enactment of this part
(referred to in this part 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
[[Page S4863]]
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) concussion prevention and post-injury observation and
monitoring fact sheets;
(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 part, one of
whom shall attend every school-sponsored athletic 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 such student is
removed from 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 the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.
6301 et seq.) 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. 10303. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this part shall be construed to affect civil or
criminal liability under Federal or State law.
SEC. 10304. DEFINITIONS.
In this part:
(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 traumatic brain injury in a pediatric
population; and
(B) includes a physician (M.D. or D.O.), certified athletic
trainer, or physical therapist who 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 9101 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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