A May 26 Carroll County Times article discuss the readiness of Carroll County Public Schools to implement new state requirements on concussion education and prevention. According to school officials, the new requirements should not pose a significant challenge.
On Tuesday, the Maryland State Board of Education passed a slew of proposals from the state Traumatic Brain Injury/Sports-Related Concussions Task Force aimed at minimizing harm, many of which Carroll County Public Schools already follow, according to Jim Rodriguez, the system’s supervisor of athletics. …
This should be relatively easy for Carroll County Public Schools to implement, according to Rodriguez.
“We feel very confident that we have the vast majority of things already in place according to what the state wants us to do,” he said.
The new concussion requirements stem from legislation enacted by the General Assembly during the 2011 Session. As previously reported by Conduit Street, HB 858 and SB 771 mandated increased concussion education for recreation officials, youth sports athletes and their parents. The bills also required that a student athlete who might have suffered a concussion be removed from practice or play until cleared by a licensed health care provider. MACo supported the bills with amendments to address implementation concerns for both public school systems and county parks and recreation departments and the final version of the bills addressed MACo’s concerns.
The article also notes that the new requirements in Carroll County apply to gym class teachers as well as athletic coaches. The school system and the State will also begin work on recommended levels of contact for high-impact high school sports.