By: Barrientos, Van de Putte, Gallegos S.B. No. 1444
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to safety regulations for certain extracurricular school
activities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 33, Education Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter E to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER E. SAFETY REGULATIONS FOR CERTAIN EXTRACURRICULAR
ACTIVITIES
Sec. 33.101. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies to
each public school in this state and to any other school in this
state subject to University Interscholastic League regulations.
Sec. 33.102. SAFETY TRAINING REQUIRED. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall develop and adopt a safety training
program as provided by this section. In developing the program, the
commissioner may use materials available from the American Red
Cross or another appropriate entity.
(b) The following persons must satisfactorily complete the
safety training program:
(1) a coach, trainer, or sponsor for an
extracurricular athletic activity;
(2) except as provided by Subsection (f), a physician
who is employed by a school or school district or who volunteers to
assist with an extracurricular athletic activity; and
(3) a director responsible for a school marching band.
(c) The safety training program must include:
(1) certification of participants by the American Red
Cross, the American Heart Association, or a similar organization,
as determined by the commissioner;
(2) annual training in:
(A) emergency action planning;
(B) cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the person
is not required to obtain certification under Section 33.086;
(C) communicating effectively with 9-1-1
emergency service operators and other emergency personnel; and
(D) recognizing symptoms of potentially
catastrophic injuries, including head and neck injuries,
concussions, injuries related to second impact syndrome, asthma
attacks, heatstroke, cardiac arrest, and injuries requiring use of
a defibrillator; and
(3) at least once each school year, a safety drill that
incorporates the training described by Subdivision (2) and
simulates various injuries described by Subdivision (2)(D).
(d) A student participating in an extracurricular athletic
activity must receive training related to:
(1) recognizing the symptoms described by Subsection
(c)(2)(D); and
(2) the risks of using supplements designed or
marketed to enhance athletic performance.
(e) The safety training program and the training under
Subsection (d) may each be conducted by a school or school district
or by an organization described by Subsection (c)(1).
(f) A physician who is employed by a school or school
district or who volunteers to assist with an extracurricular
athletic activity is exempt from the requirements of Subsection (b)
if the physician attends a continuing medical education course that
specifically addresses emergency medicine for athletic team
physicians.
Sec. 33.103. RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO HEART SCREENING.
The University Interscholastic League shall recommend that each
student participating in an extracurricular athletic activity
receive a heart screening.
Sec. 33.104. CERTAIN UNSAFE ATHLETIC ACTIVITIES
PROHIBITED. A coach, trainer, or sponsor for an extracurricular
athletic activity may not encourage or permit a student
participating in the activity to engage in any unreasonably
dangerous athletic technique that unnecessarily endangers the
health of a student, including using a helmet or any other sports
equipment as a weapon.
Sec. 33.105. CERTAIN SAFETY PRECAUTIONS REQUIRED. (a) A
coach, trainer, or sponsor for an extracurricular athletic activity
shall at each athletic practice or competition ensure that:
(1) each student participating in the activity is
adequately hydrated;
(2) any prescribed asthma medication for a student
participating in the activity is readily available to the student;
(3) if available at the school, a defibrillator is
readily accessible for use at the practice or competition;
(4) emergency lanes providing access to the practice
or competition area are open and clear; and
(5) heatstroke prevention materials are readily
available.
(b) A referee, umpire, or other official at an
extracurricular athletic competition may prohibit a student from
participating in the competition if:
(1) the official observes a violation of Subsection
(a); or
(2) the official determines that the removal would
likely prevent the death of or serious injury to the student.
(c) If a student participating in an extracurricular
athletic activity, including a practice or competition, is rendered
unconscious during the activity, the student may not:
(1) return to the practice or competition during which
the student was rendered unconscious; or
(2) continue to participate in any extracurricular
athletic activity until the student receives written authorization
from a physician.
Sec. 33.106. COMPLIANCE; ENFORCEMENT. (a) On request, a
school shall make available to the public proof of compliance for
each person enrolled in, employed by, or volunteering for the
school who is required to receive safety training described by
Section 33.102.
(b) The superintendent of a school district or the director
of a school subject to this subchapter shall maintain complete and
accurate records of the district's or school's compliance with
Section 33.102.
(c) A school campus that is determined by the school's
superintendent or director to be in noncompliance with Section
33.102, 33.104, or 33.105 shall discontinue all extracurricular
athletic activities offered by the school campus, including all
practices and competitions, until the superintendent or director
determines that the school campus is in compliance.
Sec. 33.107. CONTACT INFORMATION. (a) The commissioner
shall maintain an existing telephone number and an electronic mail
address to allow a person to report a violation of this subchapter.
(b) Each school that offers an extracurricular athletic
activity shall prominently display at the administrative offices of
the school the telephone number and electronic mail address
maintained under Subsection (a).
Sec. 33.108. UNIVERSITY INTERSCHOLASTIC LEAGUE MEDICAL
ADVISORY BOARD SUBCOMMITTEE. (a) The director of the University
Interscholastic League shall appoint a subcommittee from among the
membership of the league's medical advisory board. The director or
the director's designee shall serve as the subcommittee's presiding
officer.
(b) The subcommittee shall prepare a statement of the risks
of injury resulting from participation in extracurricular athletic
activities. The University Interscholastic League shall post the
text of the statement on the league's Internet website and provide
to each student participating in an extracurricular athletic
activity and to the student's parent or guardian a copy of the
statement.
Sec. 33.109. NOTICE REQUIRED. A school that offers an
extracurricular athletic activity shall provide to each student
participating in an extracurricular athletic activity and to the
student's parent or guardian a copy of the text of Sections
33.101-33.108.
Sec. 33.110. INCORPORATION OF SAFETY REGULATIONS. The
University Interscholastic League shall incorporate the provisions
of Sections 33.103-33.108 into the league's constitution and
contest rules.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and
applies beginning with the 2004-2005 school year, except that
Sections 33.104 and 33.108, Education Code, as added by this Act,
apply beginning with the 2003-2004 school year.