The dangers of suffering concussions have been big news in recent years, leading major sports organizations like the National Football League to develop new protocols for dealing with traumatic brain injury.
Now a new state law is requiring public school districts to make sure that school staff, coaches, students and parents also are educated about dealing with concussions.
Fortunately, Montgomery County Public Schools are ahead of the curve, having implemented a policy last year that already covers the law’s requirements, according to William “Duke” Beattie, director of system-wide athletics.
The MCPS policy is a “relatively simple plan” that includes training and education about recognizing the symptoms of concussion and what to do if a student is suspected of suffering from one, Beattie said.
“Our policy is that if any player shows any signs or symptoms consistent with a concussion, the player must be removed from the practice or game,” he said. That player can return only after being cleared by a doctor.
In addition, all coaches are required to take an online concussion awareness course offered by the National Federation of State High School Associations. Student-athletes and parents are given information about concussions before sports seasons begin. Coaches carry cards listing the symptoms.
And if a student receives a head injury that requires medical attention, parents are notified immediately. “We want the parent to know now that something has happened,” Beattie said.
Under the new law, which took effect July 1, state education officials will be creating a similar program to raise awareness about concussions. Before participating in school sports, students and parents must receive a hand-out about concussion and head injury and sign statements saying they’ve received the information, according to the law.
It also says that a student-athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion must be removed from play. And the student can’t play again until “he or she has obtained written clearance from a licensed health care professional trained in the evaluation and management of concussions.”
Some MCPS schools are taking an additional step by partnering with doctors to offer baseline concussion testing, which is a computer-based test designed to determine a student’s regular brain function. The testing is gaining in popularity across the country as way to protect athletes. NFL players participate in baseline testing and the Mayo Clinic is offering the testing for free to all high school athletes.
The testing measures such things as a student’s ability to remember information and the speed at which it can be recalled. If a student suffers a concussion, he or she retakes the test. The results, which show the brain’s condition post-concussion, are compared to the first test to help doctors determine the extent of the injury.
Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Winston Churchill in Potomac and Quince Orchard in Gaithersburg are among MCPS schools that offer the testing. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School was scheduled to offer the testing Aug. 10 at the Children’s National Medical Center in Rockville. The test was to be offered at a discount rate of $15 as part of a pilot program with the medical center, according to the school’s website.
At Churchill, every athlete involved in a contact sport is encouraged to get the testing done. The school’s athletic booster club foots the bill, according to Athletic Director David Kelley.
Although baseline testing is growing in popularity, MCPS isn’t planning on requiring schools to offer it to student-athletes, Beattie said. And some doctors are questioning whether the testing even helps protect students.
It can’t help that football stars like Peyton Manning have admitted intentionally doing badly on their initial baseline tests so they have a better chance of remaining in a game after being injured. If a player’s initial score is lower than it should be, then a comparison with the results of a test taken after a head injury might not show as great a discrepancy as it should. Even without the testing, Beattie is confident that the school system’s concussion policy is an effective one. “The coaches are on board with the plan,” he said.
