78R6333 BDH-D
By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1444
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to safety regulations for extracurricular school athletic
activities and civil consequences arising from noncompliance with
those regulations; providing a criminal penalty.
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 EXTRACURRICULAR ATHLETIC
ACTIVITIES
Sec. 33.101. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies to each
public or private school in this state, including an
open-enrollment charter school and a parochial school.
Sec. 33.102. SAFETY TRAINING COURSE REQUIRED. (a) The
commissioner by rule shall develop and adopt a safety training
course as provided by this section.
(b) The following persons must satisfactorily complete the
safety training course each school year:
(1) a coach, trainer, sponsor, or athletic director
for an extracurricular athletic activity;
(2) a physician who is employed by a school or school
district or who volunteers to assist with an extracurricular
athletic activity; and
(3) a student participating in an extracurricular
athletic activity.
(c) The safety training course 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) 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, asthma
attacks, heat stroke, and cardiac arrest; and
(3) at least twice each school year, a safety drill
that incorporates the training described by Subdivision (2) and
simulates various injuries related to athletic activities.
(d) The safety training course may be conducted by a school
or school district or by an organization described by Subsection
(c)(1).
Sec. 33.103. PHYSICAL EXAMINATION REQUIRED. (a) A student
may not participate in the extracurricular athletic activity of
football, soccer, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, or softball, or
another activity specified by the school in which the student is
enrolled, unless the student, before the first competition of the
athletic activity's season, provides to the school a certificate
from a physician who has performed a physical examination designed
to determine the student's readiness to participate in the athletic
activity. The examination must include:
(1) a blood test to determine whether the student
carries the apolipoprotein E-4 gene; and
(2) a heart screening to determine whether the student
has a life-threatening congenital heart defect.
(b) If a blood test conducted under Subsection (a)(1) is
positive, the student's school shall provide written notice to the
student's parent or legal guardian of the increased risk of brain
injury and poor injury recovery related to the presence of the gene.
Sec. 33.104. COMPLIANCE; CIVIL REMEDIES AND CRIMINAL
PENALTIES. (a) 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 complete the safety
training course described by Section 33.102.
(b) A school that offers an extracurricular athletic
activity is subject to inspection by the agency or a local fire
department for the purpose of determining compliance with Section
33.102 or 33.103.
(c) A school that is determined by the agency or a local fire
department to be in noncompliance with Section 33.102 or 33.103
shall discontinue all extracurricular athletic activities offered
by the school, including all practices and competitions, until the
school is determined to be in compliance by the agency or a local
fire department.
(d) A school official responsible for compliance under
Section 33.102 or 33.103 commits an offense if a student enrolled at
the school is killed or permanently injured as a result of injuries
sustained while participating in an extracurricular athletic
activity during a period of noncompliance, as determined by the
agency or a local fire department under this section. An offense
under this subsection is a felony punishable by:
(1) confinement for not less than 180 days and not more
than 10 years;
(2) a fine of not less than $400 and not more than
$25,000; or
(3) both the confinement and the fine.
(e) If a school in a school district does not comply with
Section 33.102 or 33.103, the school district waives sovereign
immunity to a suit arising from the noncompliance.
Sec. 33.105. TELEPHONE HOTLINE. (a) The agency shall
maintain a toll-free telephone number to allow a person to report a
violation of this subchapter.
(b) Each school that offers an extracurricular athletic
activity shall prominently display the telephone number at the
administrative offices of the school.
Sec. 33.106. NOTICE REQUIRED ON CERTAIN PREMISES. A school
that offers an extracurricular athletic activity shall prominently
display at the administrative offices of the school a sign
containing the text of Sections 33.102, 33.103, and 33.104.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and
applies beginning with the 2004-2005 school year.