LCO No. 3792 1 of 4 General Assembly Raised Bill No. 6511 January Session, 2021 LCO No. 3792 Referred to Committee on COMMITTEE ON CHILDREN Introduced by: (KID) AN ACT REQUIRING BAC KGROUND CHECKS FOR Y OUTH SPORTS COACHES, TRAINERS AN D INSTRUCTORS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 21a-432 of the general statutes is repealed and the 1 following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021): 2 (a) For purposes of this section: 3 (1) "Youth athletic activity" means an organized athletic activity 4 involving participants of not less than seven years of age, except as 5 provided in subsections (d) to (f), inclusive, of this section and not more 6 than nineteen years of age, who (A) (i) engage in an organized athletic 7 game or competition against another team, club or entity or in practice 8 or preparation for an organized game or competition against another 9 team, club or entity, or (ii) attend an organized athletic camp or clinic 10 the purpose of which is to train, instruct or prepare such participants to 11 engage in an organized athletic game or competition, and (B) (i) pay a 12 fee to participate in such organized athletic game or competition or 13 attend such camp or clinic, or (ii) whose cost to participate in such 14 athletic game or competition or attend such camp or clinic is sponsored 15 Raised Bill No. 6511 LCO No. 3792 2 of 4 by a municipality, business or nonprofit organization. "Youth athletic 16 activity" does not include any college or university athletic activity, or 17 an athletic activity that is incidental to a nonathletic program or lesson; 18 and 19 (2) "Operator" means any municipality, business or nonprofit 20 organization that conducts, coordinates, organizes or otherwise 21 oversees any youth athletic activity but shall not include any 22 municipality, business or nonprofit organization solely providing access 23 to, or use of, any field, court or other recreational area, whether for 24 compensation or not. 25 (b) [Not later than January 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, each] 26 Each operator of a youth athletic activity shall make available a written 27 or electronic statement regarding concussions to each youth athlete and 28 a parent or legal guardian of each youth athlete participating in the 29 youth athletic activity. Such written or electronic statement shall be 30 made available upon registration of each youth athlete and shall be 31 consistent with the most recent information provided by the National 32 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding concussions. 33 Such written or electronic statement shall include educational content 34 addressing, at a minimum: (1) The recognition of signs or symptoms of 35 a concussion, (2) the means of obtaining proper medical treatment for a 36 person suspected of sustaining a concussion, (3) the nature and risks of 37 concussions, including the danger of continuing to engage in youth 38 athletic activity after sustaining a concussion, and (4) the proper 39 procedures for allowing a youth athlete who has sustained a concussion 40 to return to athletic activity. 41 (c) No operator, or designee of such operator, shall be subject to civil 42 liability for failing to make available the written or electronic statement 43 regarding concussions pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. 44 (d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, 45 for purposes of this subsection and subsections (e) and (f) of this section, 46 youth athletic activity also includes an organized athletic activity 47 Raised Bill No. 6511 LCO No. 3792 3 of 4 involving participants less than seven years of age. On and after October 48 1, 2022, an operator shall require any prospective employee, except as 49 provided in subsection (f) of this section, who is eighteen years of age or 50 older and applying for a position as a coach or instructor of a youth 51 athletic activity or as an athletic trainer, licensed under chapter 375a, to 52 submit to a comprehensive background check, including state and 53 national criminal history records checks and a check of the state child 54 abuse registry established pursuant to section 17a-101k. The criminal 55 history records check required pursuant to this subsection shall be 56 conducted in accordance with section 29-17a. The provisions of this 57 subsection shall not apply to an athletic coach of intramural or 58 interscholastic athletics who is employed by a local or regional board of 59 education, provided such board satisfies the requirements relating to 60 state and national criminal history records checks applicable to 61 employees of such board pursuant to section 10-221d. Any criminal 62 history background check conducted pursuant to this subsection shall 63 be completed not later than five business days after receipt of the request 64 for such background check. Pending completion of all background 65 check components described in this subsection, a prospective employee 66 may begin work on a provisional basis, provided such prospective 67 employee is supervised at all times by an employee who was subjected 68 to a background check described in this subsection within the previous 69 five years. 70 (e) The comprehensive background checks required pursuant to 71 subsection (d) of this section shall be conducted, in accordance with the 72 provisions of 45 CFR 98.43, as amended from time to time, at least once 73 every five years for each coach, instructor or athletic trainer employed 74 by an operator. 75 (f) A person who is eighteen years of age or older and applies for a 76 position as a coach, instructor or athletic trainer for a youth athletic 77 activity in the state shall not be required to submit to such 78 comprehensive background checks if such person (1) is an employee of 79 an operator of a youth athletic activity in the state, or has not been 80 separated from employment as a coach, instructor or athletic trainer for 81 Raised Bill No. 6511 LCO No. 3792 4 of 4 a youth athletic activity in the state for a period of more than one 82 hundred eighty days, and (2) has successfully completed such 83 comprehensive background checks in the previous five years. Nothing 84 in this section prohibits an operator from requiring that a person 85 applying for a position as a coach, instructor or athletic trainer submit 86 to comprehensive background checks more than once during a five-year 87 period. 88 This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: Section 1 October 1, 2021 21a-432 Statement of Purpose: To require youth sports coaches, instructors and athletic trainers who are eighteen years of age or older to submit to a comprehensive background check. [Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]