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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2889 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2889
To promote minimum State requirements for the prevention and treatment
of concussions caused by participation in school sports, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mr. Durbin introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote minimum State requirements for the prevention and treatment
of concussions caused by participation in school sports, and for other
purposes.
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 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.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text: CR S6734)
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