80th Texas Legislative Session Summary (2007)
June 5, 2007
We have had a very successful legislative session, which adjourned on Monday, May 28.
Athletic trainers were formally recognized in Austin at the TSATA Capital Day on March 5.
Dennis Hart and Spanky Stephens were successful in gaining approval of the sports medicine class from the TEA. While it awaits final approval from the Board of Education in July, all indications are that we have scored a big win! Please visit TSATA.com for more details and the latest update on how to implement the class at your school.
A number of bills potentially affecting athletic trainers were filed in the Texas Legislature this session.
A few bills of interest passed and await the Governor’s action. The Governor has until June 17 to sign, veto, or ignore bills sent to him within 10 days of adjournment (as all below were). If he signs, the bill becomes law. If he vetoes, the bill does not become law. If he ignores it, the bill becomes law.
PLEASE NOTE: SB82 makes it a law that a student who has lost consciousness during an extracurricular activity (1) cannot return to the event in which they became unconscious (regardless of medical clearance), and (2) cannot return to participation at all until they have written authorization from a physician. See below for more details of SB82, which has several other components. Also note, the requirements of SB82 are not effective until the 2008-9 school year.
SB7: “The AED bill”.
This bill would become effective September 1 if it is written into law; it has been sent to the Governor and awaits his action.
This bill…
(1) requires instruction in CPR and AED training for school nurses, coaches, physical education instructors, marching band directors, cheerleading coaches, and each student who serves as an athletic trainer. LATs do not have to have this instruction; we have it already.
(2) requires CPR and AED instruction as part of the high school health curriculum.
(3) requires that at least one AED be present on every campus and that an AED is available at each athletic event or practice (on and off campus); the district must “determine the extent to which an automated external defibrillator must be available at each University Interscholastic League athletic practice held at a district campus.” A person trained in AED use is required anywhere that an AED is required.
(4) requires that each district “develop safety procedures for a district or school employee or student to follow in responding to a medical emergency involving cardiac arrest, including the appropriate response time in administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, using an automated external defibrillator…or calling a local emergency medical services provider.”
(5) establishes a pilot program in which some sixth graders will undergo extensive cardiac testing to determine the utility and efficacy of such a program.
SB8: “The steroid testing bill”.
This bill would become effective September 1 if it is written into law; it has been sent to the Governor and awaits his action.
This bill…
(1) requires that school athletes and their parents consent to allow random steroid testing of the athlete in order to be eligible.
(2) requires coaches (middle and high school) to take a steroid education course.
(3) requires that the UIL (not individual schools or districts) establish a system to conduct multiple tests annually to total at year’s end approximately 30% of the schools in Texas, with a “statistically significant” number of athletes the pool of athletes from those schools randomly selected for individual testing. (Thus, 70% of schools will not have random testing in any given year, and for any given test far fewer than 30% of the schools will be tested.)
(4) requires the TEA, not local districts, to pay for the testing; this cost is estimated to be $4 million per year in the first five years.
SB82: “The athletics safety bill.”
This bill would become effective September 1 if it is written into law; it has been sent to the Governor and awaits his action. HOWEVER, the bill stipulates that the requirements outlined in the bill do not take effect until the 2008-9 school year.
This bill…
(1) requires certain people to take an “extracurricular safety training program.” There is some confusion regarding whether LATs are included in this list; this issue is not yet resolved. The exact quote is: “The following persons must satisfactorily complete the safety training program: (1) a coach, trainer, or sponsor for an extracurricular athletic activity; (2) a physician who is employed by a school or school district or who volunteers to assist with an extracurricular athletic activity; and (3) a director responsible for a school marching band.” (Physicians are exempt ONLY IF they attend a continuing medical education course in “emergency medicine”; the safety program or CME emergency medicine course obviously includes your team doctors.)
(2) lists the required components of the safety course, which includes an annual safety drill at each school.
(3) requires that the UIL preparticipation form “must clearly state that failure to accurately and truthfully answer all questions on a form required by statute or by the University Interscholastic League as a condition for participation in an extracurricular athletic activity subjects a signer of the form to penalties determined by the University Interscholastic League.”
(4) requires various safety procedures for athletic events, such as adequate hydration, heat stroke prevention, clear emergency access lanes, and availability of prescribed asthma medications.
(5) ***PLEASE NOTE*** states “If a student participating in an extracurricular athletic activity, including a practice or competition, becomes unconscious during the activity, the student may not: (1) return to the practice or competition during which the student became unconscious; or (2) participate in any extracurricular athletic activity until the student receives written authorization for such participation from a physician.”
(6) requires that the school provide to each participating student and the student's parent or guardian a copy of the text of Sections 33.201-33.207 and a copy of the University Interscholastic League's parent information manual. This information can be provided electronically unless the student or parent specifically requests otherwise.
SB530: The “school-age physical fitness bill.”
This bill would become effective September 1 if it is written into law; it has been sent to the Governor and awaits his action.
This bill…
(1) requires elementary and middle school students to participate in 30 minutes of physical activity every day (all years in elementary and 2 of 3 years in middle).
(2) requires the district to evaluate every year the physical fitness of every student (except those with certain disabilities) in grades 3 through 12.
(3) stipulates the components of that evaluation.
(4) requires reporting and analysis to determine how physical fitness level affects academics, attendance, obesity, and discipline.
SB1679, which stated that only MDs, DOs, PAs, and nurse practitioners could administer and sign a preparticipation examination, passed the Senate but died in a House committee and will not become law.
Please visit www.capitol.state.tx.us to read the complete text of these bills and others.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions about these bills or Governmental Affairs activity.
Until the Governor takes action, this is the current status of legislation affecting Licensed Athletic Trainers in the great state of Texas.
Respectfully submitted,
//Dan O’Connor, LAT
TSATA Governmental Affairs Chair
oconnor_dan@sbcglobal.net
