HB 865 2024
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hb0865-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to youth athletic activities; creating 2
s. 381.796, F.S.; providing definitions; requiring an 3
entity that administers or conducts a high -risk youth 4
athletic activity or training related to such activity 5
on certain property to require certain unpaid or 6
volunteer personnel to complete a specified course; 7
requiring such personnel to complete the course within 8
a specified timeframe and annually ther eafter; 9
providing that the course may be offered online or in 10
person; prohibiting personnel from being charged a fee 11
for the course; requiring the course to include 12
specified information; providing an exemption for 13
licensed athletic trainers; requiring the Department 14
of Health to adopt rules; amending s. 1012.55, F.S.; 15
revising the requirements for certain athletic coaches 16
to include certification in cardiopulmonary 17
resuscitation, first aid, and the use of an automatic 18
external defibrillator; providing requ irements for 19
such certification; providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 381.796, Florida Statutes, is created 24
to read: 25
HB 865 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
381.796 High-risk youth athletic activities. — 26
(1) For the purposes of this section, the term: 27
(a) "Athletics personnel" means an individual who is 28
actively involved in organizing, conducting, or coaching a high -29
risk youth athletic activity or an individual involved with 30
training a child for participation in a high-risk youth athletic 31
activity. 32
(b) "High-risk youth athletic activity" means any 33
organized sport for children 14 years of age or younger in which 34
there is a significant possibility for the child to sustain a 35
serious physical injury. The term include s, but is not limited 36
to, the sports of football, basketball, baseball, volleyball, 37
soccer, ice or field hockey, cheerleading, and lacrosse. 38
(2) Any entity that administers or conducts a high -risk 39
youth athletic activity, or training for such activity, o n land 40
owned, leased, operated, or maintained by the state or a 41
political subdivision of the state must require any unpaid or 42
volunteer athletics personnel to complete a course approved by 43
the Department of Health that provides such personnel with 44
information on how to prevent or decrease the chances of a 45
participant in a high -risk youth athletic activity from 46
sustaining a serious physical injury. 47
(a) The course must be completed within 30 days after the 48
athletics personnel's initial involvement with the high-risk 49
youth athletic activity and must be completed annually 50
HB 865 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
thereafter. 51
(b) The course may be offered online or in person, and the 52
athletics personnel may not be charged any fee relating to the 53
course. 54
(c) The course must include information on al l of the 55
following: 56
1. Emergency preparedness, planning, and rehearsal in 57
relation to traumatic injuries. 58
2. Concussions and head trauma. 59
3. Injuries resulting from heat or extreme weather. 60
4. Physical conditioning and the proper use of training 61
equipment. 62
(d) The entity must maintain a record of each athletics 63
personnel who completes the course for the entirety of his or 64
her service as an unpaid or volunteer athletics personnel. 65
(3) An athletic trainer licensed under chapter 468 is 66
exempt from this section. 67
(4) The department shall adopt rules to implement this 68
section. 69
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 70
1012.55, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 71
1012.55 Positions for which certificates required. — 72
(2)(a)1. Each person who is employed and renders service 73
as an athletic coach in any public school in any district of 74
this state shall: 75
HB 865 2024
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
a. Hold a valid temporary or professional certificate or 76
an athletic coaching certificate. The athletic coaching 77
certificate may be u sed for either part-time or full-time 78
positions. 79
b. Hold and maintain a certification in cardiopulmonary 80
resuscitation, first aid, and the use of an automatic external 81
defibrillator. The certification must be consistent with 82
national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care 83
guidelines. 84
2. The provisions of this subsection do not apply to any 85
athletic coach who voluntarily renders service and who is not 86
employed by any public school district of this state. 87
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 88