160.445 Sports safety course required for high school athletics coaches -- Training
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/ky/160-445A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
and education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-
specific emergency action plans.
(a)The Kentucky Board of Education or organization or agency designated by
the board to manage interscholastic athletics shall require each interscholastic
coach to complete a sports safety course consisting of training on how to
prevent common injuries. The content of the course shall include but not be
limited to emergency planning, heat and cold illnesses, emergency
recognition, head injuries including concussions, neck injuries, facial injuries,
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of a portable automated external
defibrillator in accordance with KRS 311.667, and principles of first aid. The
course shall also be focused on safety education and shall not include
coaching principles.
(b)The state board or its agency shall:
1. Establish a minimum timeline for a coach to complete the course;
2. Approve providers of a sports safety course;
3. Be responsible for ensuring that an approved course is taught by
qualified professionals who shall either be athletic trainers, registered
nurses, physicians, or physician's assistants licensed to practice in
Kentucky;
4. Establish the minimum qualifying score for successful course
completion; and
5. Require a coach to earn a cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification
recognized by a national accrediting body on heart health.
(c)A course shall be reviewed for updates at least once every thirty
(30)months
and revised if needed.
(d)A course shall be able to be completed through hands-on or online teaching
methods in ten
(10)clock hours or less.
(e)1. A course shall include an end-of-course examination with a minimum
qualifying score for successful course completion established by the
board or its agency.
2. All coaches shall be required to take the end-of-course examination and
shall obtain at least the minimum qualifying score.
(f)At least one
(1)person who has completed the course shall be at every
interscholastic athletic practice and competition.
(a)The state board or its agency shall require each interscholastic coach to
complete training on how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how
to seek proper medical treatment for a person suspected of having a
concussion. The training shall be approved by the state board or its agency
and may be included in the sports safety course required under subsection
(1)(a) of this section.
(b)The board or its agency shall develop guidelines and other pertinent
information or adopt materials produced by other agencies to inform and
educate student athletes and their parents or legal guardians of the nature and
risk of concussion and head injury, including the continuance of play after
concussion or head injury. Any required physical examination and parental
authorization shall include acknowledgement of the education information
required under this paragraph.
(c)Upon request, the board or its agency shall make available to the public any
training materials developed by the board or agency used to satisfy the
requirements of paragraph
(a)of this subsection. The board or its agency shall
not be held liable for the use of any training materials so disseminated.
(a)A student athlete suspected by an interscholastic coach, school athletic
personnel, or contest official of sustaining a concussion during an athletic
practice or competition shall be removed from play at that time and shall not
return to play prior to the ending of the practice or competition until the
athlete is evaluated to determine if a concussion has occurred. The evaluation
shall be completed by a physician or a licensed health care provider whose
scope of practice and training includes the evaluation and management of
concussions and other brain injuries. A student athlete shall not return to play
on the date of a suspected concussion absent the required evaluation.
(b)1. Upon completion of the required evaluation, a coach:
a. May return a student athlete to play if the physician or licensed
health care provider determines that no concussion has occurred;
or
b. Shall not return a student athlete to play if the physician or
licensed health care provider determines that a concussion has
occurred.
2. If no physician or licensed health care provider described in paragraph
(a)of this subsection is present at the practice or competition to perform
the required evaluation, a coach shall not return a student athlete to play
who is suspected of sustaining a concussion. The student athlete shall
not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice or athletic
competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.
(c)A student athlete deemed to be concussed shall not return to participate in any
athletic practice or competition occurring on the day of the injury. The injured
student athlete shall not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice
or athletic competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.
(4)The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics
that encourage each school that participates in interscholastic athletics to provide
access to at least one
(1)portable automated external defibrillator in a public,
readily accessible, well-marked location at each school-sanctioned athletic practice
or competition, including any practice or competition held off campus.
(5)The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics
conducted by local boards of education to require each school that participates in
interscholastic athletics to develop a venue-specific emergency action plan to deal
with serious injuries and acute medical conditions in which the condition of the
patient may deteriorate rapidly. The plan shall:
(a)Include a delineation of the roles of staff and emergency personnel, methods
of communication, available emergency equipment, and access to and plan for
emergency transport;
(b)If one is available, identify the location of a portable automated external
defibrillator and the procedures for its use during an emergency; and
(c)Be in writing, reviewed by the principal of the school, distributed to all
appropriate personnel, posted conspicuously at all venues, and reviewed
annually and rehearsed by simulation prior to the beginning of each athletic
season by all:
1. Licensed athletic trainers, first responders, school nurses, athletic
directors; and
2. Interscholastic coaches and volunteer coaches of each athletic team
active during that athletic season.
(6)Each school shall submit annual written certification to the state board or its agency
of the existence of a venue-specific emergency action plan that the school has
reviewed and rehearsed by simulation as required by subsection (5)(c) of this
section.
(7)Each school shall maintain complete and accurate records of its compliance with
this section and shall make the records available for review by the state board or its
agency upon request.