Bill Text: NJ A6017 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Commissioner of Education to develop and distribute heat stroke pamphlet for athletes at public and nonpublic schools; requires school districts and public institutions of higher education to establish heat illness policy for athletes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-12-05 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Education Committee [A6017 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A6017-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman BENJIE E. WIMBERLY
District 35 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Commissioner of Education to develop and distribute heat stroke pamphlet for athletes at public and nonpublic schools; requires school districts and public institutions of higher education to establish heat illness policy for athletes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the prevention of heat illness in student-athletes and supplementing Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. The Commissioner of Education shall develop a pamphlet that provides information about exertional heat stroke to student-athletes and the parents or guardians of student-athletes and shall post the information on the Department of Education's website. The pamphlet shall include: an explanation of exertional heat stroke; how to prevent exertional heat stroke; factors which may increase a student's risk for exertional heat stroke; a description of early warning signs of exertional heat stroke; how to recognize symptoms of heat stroke; appropriate ways to treat heat stroke; and a form to be signed by the student-athlete and his parent or guardian, coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers acknowledging receipt and review of the pamphlet.
b. The commissioner shall distribute the pamphlet, at no charge, to all school districts and nonpublic schools in the State and shall update the pamphlet as necessary.
c. Each school district and nonpublic school shall distribute the pamphlet to the parents or guardians of students participating in athletic activities and to all coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers.
d. (1) A student participating in, or desiring to participate in, an athletic activity and the student's parent or guardian shall, each year and prior to participation by the student in an athletic activity, sign and return to the student's school the form developed by the commissioner pursuant to subsection a. of this section acknowledging the receipt and review of the informational pamphlet.
(2) All coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers shall sign the form developed by the commissioner pursuant to subsection a. of this section acknowledging the receipt and review of the informational pamphlet. The form shall be returned to the superintendent of schools or the chief school administrator in the case of a nonpublic school.
e. As used in this section, "athletic activity" means: interscholastic athletics; an athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic athletics, that is sponsored by or associated with a school district or nonpublic school, including cheerleading and club-sponsored sports activities; and any practice or interschool practice or scrimmage for those activities.
2. a. A school district
shall adopt a policy for the prevention and treatment of exertional heat
illnesses in athletes for all sports
practices, games, and contests conducted outdoors. The policy shall be in conformance with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's heat participation policy, to the extent that the association's policy is not in conflict with this act. The school district policy shall include:
(1) At least a four-step progression of heat-acclimatization modifications, with specific modification of equipment, if applicable to the sport, specific modification of work to rest ratios, specific modification of total practice time, specific modification of water breaks, and the use of shaded area for rest breaks;
(2) Wet Bulb Global Temperature guidelines. The policy shall follow modified guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine in regard to: the scheduling of practice, games, and contests during times of various Wet Bulb Global Temperature levels, including levels at which practice, games, and contests will be modified or terminated; and the ratio of workout time to time allotted for rest and hydration during times of various Wet Bulb Global Temperature levels. The Wet Bulb Global Temperature guidelines shall take into consideration acclimated student-athletes and non-acclimated student-athletes; and
(3) A requirement that student-athletes have uninhibited access to hydration and a cooling space which can be a shaded area or an indoor air-conditioned area. At a Wet Bulb Global Temperature level of 82, ice shall be available to coaches and student-athletes.
b. In the case of the death a student-athlete which is related to his performance in public school athletics, the Commissioner of Education shall commission an independent third party to conduct an investigation. The results of the investigation shall be provided to the parent or guardian of the student-athlete and shall be made public, to the extent permissible under federal and State law.
3. a. A public institution of higher education shall adopt a policy for the prevention and treatment of exertional heat illnesses in athletes for all sports practices, games, and contests conducted outdoors. The policy shall be in conformance with the heat participation policy adopted by the athletic association governing athletics at the institution, to the extent that the athletic association's policy is not in conflict with this act. The institution's policy shall include:
(1) At least a four-step progression of heat-acclimatization modifications, with specific modification of equipment, if applicable to the sport, specific modification of work to rest ratios, specific modification of total practice time, specific modification of water breaks, and the use of shaded area for rest breaks;
(2) Wet Bulb Global
Temperature guidelines. The policy shall follow modified guidelines of the
American College of Sports
Medicine in regard to: the scheduling of practice, games, and
contests during times of various Wet Bulb Global Temperature levels, including levels at which practice, games, and contests will be modified or terminated; and the ratio of workout time to time allotted for rest and hydration during times of various Wet Bulb Global Temperature levels. The Wet Bulb Global Temperature guidelines shall take into consideration acclimated student-athletes and non-acclimated student-athletes; and
(3) A requirement that student-athletes have uninhibited access to hydration and a cooling space which can be a shaded area or an indoor air-conditioned area. At a Wet Bulb Global Temperature level of 82, ice shall be available to coaches and student-athletes.
b. In the case of death a student-athlete which is related to his performance in collegiate athletics, an institution of higher education shall commission an independent third party to conduct an investigation. The results of the investigation shall be provided to the parent or guardian of the student-athlete and shall be made public, to the extent permissible under federal and State law.
4. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Commissioner of Education to develop a pamphlet that provides information about exertional heat stroke to student-athletes and the parents or guardians of student-athletes. The commissioner is also required to post the information on the department's website. The pamphlet must include: an explanation of exertional heat stroke; how to prevent exertional heat stroke; factors which may increase a student's risk for exertional heat stroke; a description of early warning signs of exertional heat stroke; how to recognize symptoms of heat stroke; appropriate ways to treat heat stroke; and a form to be signed by the student-athlete and his parent or guardian, and coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers acknowledging receipt and review of the pamphlet.
The commissioner must provide the pamphlet, at no charge, to all school districts and nonpublic schools, and they are required to distribute the pamphlet to the parents or guardians of all student-athletes and to all coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers. A student-athlete and the student-athlete's parent or guardian are required to acknowledge the receipt of the pamphlet and review it. The coaches, assistant coaches, and athletic trainers are also required to acknowledge the receipt of the pamphlet and review it.
The bill requires school
districts, as well as public institutions of higher education, to adopt a
policy for the prevention and treatment
of exertional heat illnesses in athletes for all sports practices,
games, and contests conducted outdoors. The policy must include:
· At least a four-step progression of heat-acclimatization modifications, with specific modification of equipment, if applicable to the sport, specific modification of work to rest ratios, specific modification of total practice time, specific modification of water breaks, and the use of shaded area for rest breaks;
· Wet Bulb Global Temperature (WBGT) guidelines. The policy will follow modified guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine in regard to: the scheduling of practice, games, and contests during times of various WBGT levels, including levels at which practice, games, and contests will be modified or terminated; and the ratio of workout time to time allotted for rest and hydration during times of various WBGT levels. The WBGT guidelines must take into consideration acclimated student-athletes and non-acclimated student-athletes; and
· A requirement that student-athletes have uninhibited access to hydration and a cooling space. At a WBGT level of 82, ice shall be available to coaches and student-athletes.
The bill also requires that an investigation conducted by an independent third party must be commissioned in the case of the death of a student-athlete which is related to his athletic performance. In the case of school districts, the investigation will be commissioned by the Commissioner of Education and in the case of public institutions of higher education, it will be the institution that commissions the investigation. The results of the investigation will be provided to the parent or guardian of the student-athlete and also will be made public, to the extent permissible under federal and State law.
