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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The Acting Director of Health, pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 6(a) of the Athletic Concussion Protection Act of 2011 (“Act”), effective October 20, 2011 (D.C. Law 19-22, D.C. Official Code § 7-2871.05 (2012 Repl.)), and Mayor’s Order 2013-110, dated June 20, 2013, hereby gives notice of his intent to adopt the following amendments to Chapter 6 (Protection of Minors) of Subtitle B (Public Health & Medicine) of Title 22 (Health) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).
The rules would establish the concussion protection training program, as required by Section 4(a) of the Act.
The Acting Director also gives notice of his intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt the proposed rules in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
Chapter 6 (Protection of Minors) of Subtitle B (Public Health & Medicine) of Title 22 (Health) is amended as follows:
Amend the table of contents by adding a new section heading and section number to read as follows:
B-620 CONCUSSION PROTECTION
Amend Chapter 6 by adding a new Section 620 to read as follows:
620 CONCUSSION PROTECTION
620.1 The provisions of this section shall apply to:
(a) Any athletic activity sponsored by a school;
(b) Any athletic activity sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation
(c) Any athletic activity sponsored by a private for-profit or nonprofit organization regardless of where that activity occurs in the District.
620.2 Each sponsor of athletic activity shall provide to the entity authorizing use of a recreation area for an athletic activity written verification that each coach, trainer, or Physical Education (PE) teacher for the athletic activity is in compliance with concussion protection training requirements of this section.
620.3 Each coach, athletic trainer, and PE teacher for an athletic activity shall take online concussion training and provide to her or his sponsoring organization a certificate of completion from either of the following online training resources:
(a) Concussion in sports—v2.0
http://www.nfhslearn.com/electiveDetail.aspx?courseID=38000; or
(b) CDC Concussion in sports—Heads Up
http://cdc.gov/concussion/headsup/training/.
620.4 The training and certificate of completion required by § 620.3 shall be completed by each coach, athletic trainer, and PE teacher before the athletic activity they are supervising begins practice.
620.5 Each coach and athletic trainer shall renew concussion training and provide the sponsoring organization with a certificate of completion every two years.
620.6 A school that offers an athletic activity shall provide training to school personnel to recognize the signs and symptoms of concussion and their manifestations in a school setting.
620.7 School personnel that interact with an athlete removed from athletic activity due to head injury shall receive information of the athlete’s injury and its specific symptom manifestations, including physical, cognitive, emotional, and sleep disturbance, and the checklist of signs and symptoms of concussion. The training and certification identified in § 620.3 shall satisfy the minimal training requirements of this subsection.
620.99 When used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:
Athlete—a person who engages in an athletic activity who is eighteen (18) years of age or younger.
Athletic activity—a program or event, including practice and competition, organized as part of a school-sponsored, interscholastic-athletic program, an athletic program sponsored by the Department of Parks and Recreation, or an athletic program sponsored by a nonprofit or for-profit organization. This term includes participation in physical education classes that are part of a school curriculum.
Concussion—a traumatic injury to the brain that causes a change in a person’s mental status at the time of injury, such as feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused, which may involve a loss of consciousness, resulting from:
(a) A fall;
(b) A blow or jolt to the head or body;
(c) Shaking or spinning of the head or body; or
(d) Acceleration and deceleration of the head.
Department—the Department of Health.
School—a public school operated under authority of the Mayor, a public charter school, a parochial school, or a private school.
Comments on the proposed rules should be sent in writing to the Department of Health, Office of the General Counsel, 5th Floor, 899 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002, not later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained Monday through Friday, except holidays, between the hours of 8:15 A.M. and 4:45 P.M. at the same address. Questions concerning the rulemaking should be directed to Angli Black, Administrative Assistant, at Angli.Black@dc.gov or (202) 442-5977.
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