The state House of Representatives today unanimously approved a measure expanding Connecticut’s concussion policy for young athletes.The bill now heads to the Senate.
State Rep. Diana Urban, (c) chair of the legislature’s Select Committee on Children, poses with (l-r) state Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, Westport parents Diana Coyne and Pippa Bell Ader, and state Rep. Gail Lavielle. Westporter Ann Sherwood, one of the three mothers instrumental in initiating the bill, was not present. Contributed photo
Westport parents Diana Coyne, Pippa Bell Ader and Ann Sherwood, members of the Parents Concussion Coalition, were on hand after working for two years to update the state’s concussion law and bring it to the basic current standards of practice.
House Bill 5113 broadens a 2010 law regarding youth athletics and concussions by giving parents more information and power when their child suffers a potential head injury while playing sports.
The bill requires schools to give parents a consent form regarding the school’s concussion education plan. A coach or principal must notify a parent within 24 hours after a student athlete is pulled from a game for a suspected concussion.
The child will not be allowed to participate in any physical activity until cleared by a doctor.
The bill also requires all coaches to complete an initial concussion training course, with refresher courses every five years. School districts will have to report all concussions incidents to the state Board of Education on yearly basis.
The measure passed on a 145-0 vote in the House of Representatives, and now heads to the Senate for consideration.
