On May 31, 2011, Governor Pete Shumlin signed Vermont's youth sports concussion safety bill (S. 100) into law.
Key provisions:
- Covers public and private school athletes at both elementary and secondary (middle and high school) levels
- Requires state commissioner of education to develop guidelines and educational materials explaining nature and risk of concussions, including risks associated with premature return to sports after concussion, and importantance of medical evaluation of suspected concussion
- Requires parents/guardians and student-athletes to sign concussion information forms on an annual basis prior to participation in interscholastic sports
- Requires coaches to receive concussion training no less than every two years, and for new coaches to receive such training before beginning coaching.
- Requires a youth athlete to be cleared by a licensed health care professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions before returning to play or practice.
Weak law
Because the new Vermont law does not, unlike laws modeled on the Zackery Lystedt law enacted in Washington State in May 2009 and in twenty other states, require the removal of athletes from games or practices if they are suspected to have suffered a concussion, it is considered a weak concussion law.
Posted June 17, 2011
