Fall in Texas means the return of sports including football, volleyball, and cross-country for school districts across the state. As is the case every session, the Texas Legislature passed a number of bills affecting school districts, and two specifically address the health of student-athletes.

House Bill 76

HB 76, effective September 1, 2019, creates a new provision of the Texas Education Code: § 33.096. The bill requires districts to provide students who participate in specific UIL activities with information about sudden cardiac arrest and electrocardiogram testing, as well as notification of the option for the student to request the administration of an electrocardiogram in addition to a physical examination.

A student may request an electrocardiogram from any health care professional, including a health care professional provided through the student’s patient-centered medical home, a health care professional provided through a school district program, or another health care professional chosen by the parent or person standing in parental relation to the student, provided that the health care professional is: (1) appropriately licensed in this state; and (2) authorized to administer and interpret electrocardiograms under the health care professional’s scope of practice, as established by the health care professional’s Texas licensing act.

Education Code § 33.096 does not create a cause of action or liability or a standard of care, obligation, or duty that provides a basis for a cause of action or liability against a health care professional described above, the UIL, a school district, or a district officer or employee for:

 

(1) The injury or death of a student participating in or practicing for an athletic activity sponsored or sanctioned by the UIL based on or in connection with the administration or interpretation of or reliance on an electrocardiogram; or

(2) The content or distribution of the information required under § 33.096(a) or the failure to distribute the required information under § 33.096.

House Bill 961

HB 961 amends and adds provisions in Chapter 38 of the Texas Education Code. Specifically, school nurses may now join a district’s concussion oversight team if requested by the school nurse. As a member of the team, the nurse must have training in the evaluation, treatment, and oversight of concussions at the time of appointment or approval as a member of the team. School nurses who wish to join the concussion oversight team must take a specified concussion course provided by UIL or the Texas Department of Licensing or Regulation, or alternatively may take a course on concussions approved for continuing education credit by the Texas Board of Nursing.

For more information on these bills, extracurricular activities, or updates from the legislative session generally, please contact your district’s legal counsel.

 

This article should not be construed as legal advice related to any specific facts or circumstances. This article is intended to educate readers. It is not to provide advice that will be the basis for action or inaction in any specific circumstance. Viewing these materials does not create an attorney-client relationship between ARBH and the reader or the reader’s institution. For circumstance-specific legal advice, please directly contact a licensed attorney.