A proposed North Carolina bill would authorize parents to send their concussed children back to the field, according to The Washington Post.
Here are six things to know:
1. The proposed bill calls for the implementation of several safety protocols for middle and high school athletes.
2. The Gfeller-Waller Concussion Awareness Act of 2011 ruled that students exhibiting concussion signs or symptoms were to be "removed from the activity at that time" and not "allowed to return to play or practice that day." The law states that in order to return to play or practice, the students had to receive written clearance from a licensed physician, neuropsychologist, athletic trainer, a physician assistant or nurse practitioner.
3. The new bill, HB 116, adds parents and legal guardians to the list of people qualified to clear a child's return to the field after a head or brain injury.
4. Although HB 116 calls for all parents of children playing middle and high school sports to receive a concussion and head injury information sheet, the bill's detractors assert that few parents have the medical training necessary to properly discern if a child has fully recovered from head or brain injury.
5. In 2013, Washington, D.C.,-based National Academy of Sciences released a study that found high school football players were twice as likely to suffer concussions as collegiate players.
6. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Harry Warren (R-77), State Rep. Donny Lambeth (R-75), State Rep. Gregory F. Murphy, MD, (R-9), State Rep. David Rogers (R-112), State Rep. Beverly G. Boswell (R-6), State Rep. Becky Carney (D-102), State Rep. Holly Grange (R-20), State Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-57) and State Rep. Scott Stone (R-105).
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