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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6492
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 3672
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING ED UCATION AND TRAINING IN EXERTIONAL
HEAT ILLNESS FOR COA CHES, PARENTS, GUARD IANS AND
STUDENTS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2021) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Exertional heat illness" means an illness resulting from engaging 2
in physical activity in the heat, including, but not limited to, heat 3
cramps, heat syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke; 4
(2) "Heat cramps" means sudden or progressively and noticeably 5
evolving, involuntary, painful contractions of skeletal muscle during or 6
after engaging in physical activity in the heat; 7
(3) "Heat exhaustion" means the inability to effectively engage in 8
physical activity in the heat, secondary to a combination of factors, 9
including, but not limited to, cardiovascular insufficiency, hypotension, 10
energy depletion and central fatigue and is manifested by an elevated 11
core body temperature and associated with a high rate or volume of skin 12
blood flow, heavy sweating and dehydration; 13 Raised Bill No. 6492
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(4) "Heat stroke" means a medical emergency characterized by 14
neuropsychiatric impairment and a high core body temperature, 15
typically 105.8° Fahrenheit or above; 16
(5) "Heat syncope" means sudden dizziness, feeling faint and fainting 17
experienced after engaging in physical activity in the heat; and 18
(6) "Intramural or interscholastic athletics" shall include any activity 19
sponsored by a school or local education agency, as defined in section 20
10-15f of the general statutes, or an organization sanctioned by the local 21
education agency that involves any athletic contest, practice, 22
scrimmage, competition, demonstration, display or club activity. 23
(b) For the school year commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year 24
thereafter, any person who holds or is issued a coaching permit by the 25
State Board of Education and is a coach of intramural or interscholastic 26
athletics shall complete an exertional heat illness awareness education 27
program prior to commencing the coaching assignment for the season 28
of such intramural or interscholastic athletics. Such program shall be 29
developed or approved pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. For the 30
school year commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year thereafter, 31
any person who holds or is issued a coaching permit by the State Board 32
of Education and is a coach of intramural or interscholastic athletics 33
shall annually review the program developed or approved pursuant to 34
subsection (c) of this section, prior to commencing the coaching 35
assignment for the season of such intramural or interscholastic athletics. 36
(c) On or before January 1, 2022, the governing authority for 37
intramural and interscholastic athletics, in consultation with an 38
appropriate organization representing licensed athletic trainers, an 39
organization representing sports medical doctors, an organization that 40
researches best practices in managing heat illness, and an organization 41
representing county medical associations, shall develop or approve an 42
exertional heat illness awareness education program for use by local and 43
regional boards of education. Such program shall be published on the 44
State Board of Education's Internet web site and shall include, but need 45 Raised Bill No. 6492
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not be limited to, (1) the recognition of the symptoms of an exertional 46
heat illness, (2) the means of obtaining proper medical treatment for a 47
person suspected of having an exertional heat illness, and (3) the nature 48
and risk of exertional heat illness, including the danger of continuing to 49
engage in athletic activity after sustaining exertional heat illness and the 50
proper method of allowing a student athlete who has sustained 51
exertional heat illness to return to athletic activity. 52
(d) On or before October 1, 2022, and annually thereafter, the 53
governing authority for intramural and interscholastic athletics, in 54
consultation with an appropriate organization representing licensed 55
athletic trainers, an organization representing sports medical doctors, 56
an organization that researches best practices in managing heat illness 57
and an organization representing county medical associations, shall 58
develop or approve annual review materials regarding current and 59
relevant information regarding exertional heat illness for use by local 60
and regional boards of education. 61
(e) On or before January 1, 2022, the governing authority for 62
intramural and interscholastic athletics, in consultation with an 63
appropriate organization representing licensed athletic trainers, an 64
organization representing sports medical doctors, an organization that 65
researches best practices in managing heat illness and an organization 66
representing county medical associations, shall develop a model 67
exertional heat illness awareness plan for use by local and regional 68
boards of education. Each local and regional board of education shall 69
implement such plan by utilizing written materials, online training or 70
videos or in-person training that shall address, at a minimum: (1) The 71
recognition of signs or symptoms of exertional heat illness, (2) the means 72
of obtaining proper medical treatment for a person suspected of an 73
exertional heat illness, (3) the nature and risks of exertional heat illness, 74
including the danger of continuing to engage in athletic activity after 75
experiencing exertional heat illness, (4) the proper procedures for 76
allowing a student athlete who has experienced exertional heat illness 77
to return to athletic activity, and (5) best practices in the prevention and 78 Raised Bill No. 6492
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treatment of exertional heat illness. 79
(f) For the school year commencing July 1, 2022, and each school year 80
thereafter, each local and regional board of education shall prohibit a 81
student athlete from participating in any intramural or interscholastic 82
activity unless the student athlete, and a parent or guardian of such 83
student athlete, (1) reads written materials, (2) views online training or 84
videos, or (3) attends in-person training developed or approved 85
pursuant to this section. Acknowledgment of adherence to this standard 86
by the student athlete and the parent or guardian shall be made by the 87
parent's or guardian's signature on an athletic participation informed 88
consent form issued by the applicable local or regional board of 89
education. 90
(g) The State Board of Education may revoke the coaching permit, in 91
accordance with the provisions of subsection (i) of section 10-145b of the 92
general statutes, of any coach found to be in violation of this section. 93
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2021 New section
PH Joint Favorable