A bill introduced in the Montana House of Representatives on March 30 seeks to determine how effective the state鈥檚 youth-concussion law has been over the past two years.
In April 2013, the state enacted the 鈥�,鈥� which requires all three of the major components of the so-called 鈥渋deal鈥� youth-concussion law. Student-athletes and parents must sign and return a concussion-information form before being allowed to participate in athletics; any student-athlete suspected of a concussion must be removed from play immediately; and student-athletes removed from play due to a concussion must receive written clearance from a licensed health-care provider before returning to play. Additionally, the law requires all coaches, athletic trainers, and officials to complete a concussion training session annually.
Two years later, Rep. Gordon Pierson, the author of , would like to gauge how well school districts around the state are following such rules. The study would investigate how many youth-athletes have been removed from participation after being suspected of a concussion, examine districts鈥� policies to make sure they align with the state鈥檚 law, and determine the effectiveness of the training course for coaches, athletic trainers, and officials.
Additionally, if passed through the state legislature and signed into law, the study would investigate 鈥渆merging technologies to evaluate brain injuries in student-athletes, including technologies to evaluate a student-athlete鈥檚 ability to return to participation鈥� and compare districts鈥� policies to the latest information about concussions and sports-related brain injuries.
If the committee conducting the study finds inconsistencies among implementation, it would 鈥渋nvestigate ways鈥� to address such concerns, including 鈥渟tatutory changes; requiring the use of specific protocols and evaluation tools; and seeking resources for districts not able to implement policies consistent with current best practices,鈥� among other solutions. The findings would be presented to the state legislature no later than Sept. 15, 2016.
With all 50 states now having youth-concussion laws on the books, this is the next logical step for legislatures to take. Given how new the field of concussion research is, and how much new information continues to surface, legislatures are wise not to simply stop at enacting a statewide youth-concussion law. Though such legislation led to a massive increase in medical treatment for concussions in recent years, according to a study published online in JAMA Pediatrics , multiple states are still looking for ways to .
Last March, the Education Commission of the States , finding that most had the same three main components of Montana鈥檚. Only about half of states require coaches to complete a concussion-management training program (some annually, some biennially), so Montana is somewhat ahead of the curve in that regard. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics proposed a 鈥渞eturn-to-learn鈥� plan in 鈥攅ssentially easing concussed student-athletes back into academic work鈥攚hich could be a next frontier for many states鈥� laws.
There鈥檚 nothing wrong with Montana鈥檚 youth-concussion law, but that doesn鈥檛 mean it can鈥檛 be improved upon. If the state legislature passes Rep. Pierson鈥檚 bill, we鈥檒l find out just how much work is left to be done over the next 18 months.