[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 153 (Thursday, September 18, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6734-S6735]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BY MR. PADILLA:
S. 2881. A bill to provide for the transfer of administrative
jurisdiction over certain Federal land in the State of California, and
for other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Ackerson Meadow
Land Exchange Act. This legislation will facilitate a simple land
exchange between the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service
in the Sierra Nevada.
This bill would transfer 160 acres of Stanislaus National Forest land
to the National Park Service to be managed as part of Yosemite National
Park and transfer 170 acres of National Park land to the Forest Service
to manage as part of Stanislaus National Forest. The land in the
exchange is known as Ackerson Meadow.
Ackerson Meadow is one of the largest midelevation meadows in the
Sierra Nevada. It is an ecologically and regionally critical wildlife
corridor, and the scenic meadow is an important habitat for the State
endangered great grey owl and little willow flycatcher, as well as a
suite of additional at-risk wildlife species. In 2016, a coalition of
conservation groups donated Ackerson Meadow to Yosemite National Park;
however, it is almost completely surrounded by Stanislaus National
Forest and only partially contiguous to the rest of Yosemite National
Park.
The current configuration of land management presents logistical
challenges to both NPS and Forest Service; therefore, both Agencies, as
well as local stakeholders, support this land exchange.
I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this
straightforward legislation to better manage the land in and around
Ackerson Meadow.
By Mr. DURBIN:
S. 2889. A bill to promote minimum State requirements for the
prevention and treatment of concussions caused by participation in
school sports, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of
the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2889
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 2025''.
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;
(ii) providing appropriate academic accommodations aimed at
progressively reintroducing cognitive demands on the student;
and
(iii) if the student's symptoms of concussion persist for a
substantial period of time--
(I) evaluating the student in accordance with section 614
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
1414) to determine whether the student is eligible for
services under part B of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1411 et seq.);
or
(II) evaluating whether the student is eligible for
services under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 794); 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
[[Page S6735]]
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 resuming participation in school-
sponsored athletic activities--
(I) on the day the student sustained the concussion; and
(II) until the day the student is capable of resuming such
participation, according to the student's written release, as
described in paragraph (4); 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.
(5) Return to academics.--If a student enrolled in a public
school in the State has sustained a concussion, the
concussion management team (as described under paragraph
(1)(B)(i)) of the school shall consult with and make
recommendations to relevant school personnel and the student
to ensure that the student is receiving the appropriate
academic supports, including--
(A) providing for periods of cognitive rest over the course
of the school day;
(B) providing modified academic assignments;
(C) allowing for gradual reintroduction to cognitive
demands; and
(D) other appropriate academic accommodations or
adjustments.
(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'' means an individual--
(A) who has been trained in diagnosis and management of
concussion in a pediatric population;
(B) who is registered, licensed, certified, or otherwise
statutorily recognized by the State to provide such diagnosis
and management; and
(C) whose scope of practice and experience includes the
diagnosis and management of traumatic brain injury among a
pediatric population.
(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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