                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

GUIDELINES AND POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ON CONCUSSIONS IN STUDENT-ATHLETES (§
22.1-271.5)

A. The Board of Education shall develop, biennially update, and distribute to
each local school division guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches,
student-athletes, and student-athletes&#8217; parents or guardians of the nature
and risk of concussions, criteria for removal from and return to play, risks of
not reporting the injury and continuing to play, and the effects of concussions
on student-athletes&#8217; academic performance.

B. Each local school division shall develop and biennially update policies and
procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in
student-athletes. Such policies shall:

   1. Require that in order to participate in any extracurricular physical
   activity, each student-athlete and the student-athlete&#8217;s parent or
   guardian shall review, on an annual basis, information on concussions provided
   by the local school division. After having reviewed materials describing the
   short- and long-term health effects of concussions, each student-athlete and
   the student-athlete&#8217;s parent or guardian shall sign a statement
   acknowledging receipt of such information, in a manner approved by the Board
   of Education;

   2. Require a student-athlete suspected by that student-athlete&#8217;s coach,
   athletic trainer, or team physician of sustaining a concussion or brain injury
   in a practice or game to be removed from the activity at that time. A
   student-athlete who has been removed from play, evaluated, and suspected to
   have a concussion or brain injury shall not return to play that same day nor
   until (i) evaluated by an appropriate licensed health care provider as
   determined by the Board of Education and (ii) in receipt of written clearance
   to return to play from such licensed health care provider.
   				The licensed health care provider evaluating student-athletes suspected of
   having a concussion or brain injury may be a volunteer; and

   3. Include a &#8220;Return to Learn Protocol&#8221; with the following
   requirements:
   				a. School personnel shall be alert to cognitive and academic issues that
   may be experienced by a student who has suffered a concussion or other head
   injury, including (i) difficulty with concentration, organization, and
   long-term and short-term memory; (ii) sensitivity to bright lights and sounds;
   and (iii) short-term problems with speech and language, reasoning, planning,
   and problem solving; and
   				b. School personnel shall accommodate the gradual return to full
   participation in academic activities of a student who has suffered a
   concussion or other head injury as appropriate, based on the recommendation of
   the student&#8217;s licensed health care provider as to the appropriate amount
   of time that such student needs to be away from the classroom.

C. Each non-interscholastic youth sports program utilizing public school
property shall either (i) establish policies and procedures regarding the
identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes,
consistent with either the local school division&#8217;s policies and procedures
developed in compliance with this section or the Board&#8217;s Guidelines for
Policies on Concussions in Student-Athletes, or (ii) follow the local school
division&#8217;s policies and procedures as set forth in subsection B. In
addition, local school divisions may provide the guidelines to organizations
sponsoring athletic activity for student-athletes on school property. Local
school divisions shall not be required to enforce compliance with such policies.

D. As used in this section, &#8220;non-interscholastic youth sports
program&#8221; means a program organized for recreational athletic competition
or recreational athletic instruction for youth.

HISTORY: 2010, c. 483; 2014, cc. 746, 760; 2016, c. 151; 2019, c. 142.