New Law Rolls Out Concussion Ed

High school football programs around Virginia will begin practice this week with new athletes, new plays and a new law.

Senate Bill 652, which went into effect July 1, requires each local school division to develop policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of suspected concussions in student-athletes. The student-athletes, their parents and coaches must know what concussion-related symptoms to look for. Student-athletes and their parents will have to take a 25-minute concussion course given through National Federation of State High School Associations.

"The new law requires a sign-off that they have been made aware of the signs of concussions," said Tom Dolan, assistant director of the Virginia High School League, the governing body of the commonwealth’s 312 public high school athletic programs. "Anytime you can give information to parents and athletes, that's a great thing. Our concern at the VHSL is helping the member schools get on board."

All student athletes on any interscholastic team must adhere to the new law, passed in 2010, regardless to sport. Student athletes and their parents must complete an online informational session and sign off before the start date of the sport.

There have been several studies on concussions and their long- and short-term effects. Common symptoms of concussions are, but aren’t limited to headaches, sensitivity to light and sound, confusion, loss of consciousness and a dazed appearance, according to sportsconcussions.org. According to a December 2010 story in Science Daily, 544 concussions were recorded by the High School Reporting Information Online surveillance system during the 2008-2009 school year.

Robin Harris, Ivy League executive director, applauded Virginia's decision to enact a law that makes both parents and student athletes aware of concussion symptoms. The Ivy League itself has made headlines for their decision to shorten the number of full-contact practices football programs from member schools can have a week.

According to Harris, the NCAA says football programs can hold five full-contact practices a week. Starting this year, Ivy League schools will only have two full-contact practices a week. Harris said the decision came after she and the presidents from the Ivy League's eight institutions have been following studies and stories about the effects of concussions.

"To hear states are doing this on their own is great," Harris said during a telephone interview. "I think it's a very needed step."

Dolan said educating people about concussions and their effects is one thing but getting accurate data on them is another. He said getting accurate information about the number of concussions suffered by VHSL athletes is almost impossible because of the mentality of athletes to want to compete. He is hopeful that with the new law that student athletes, their parents and coaches will be able to identify concussions better.

"What you get as far as the numbers stated doesn't reflect the actual number," Dolan said. "It's good to know but they don't give an accurate number."