SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Steve Fox (D-Palmdale) today announced that Assembly Bill (AB) 588 was approved unanimously by the Senate and now will advance to the Governor for his signature. This measure expands existing law that protects school athletes who are suspected of having sustained a concussion.
“Our student athletes have not been equally protected by the laws that were created to safeguard children from the dangers of concussion injury and re-injury,” said Fox. “I am pleased that we are one step closer today to making all students safer.”
AB 588 expands the existing law that was enacted last year to protect public school athletes from complications or re-injuries associated with concussions. Current laws state that only athletes in public schools must be taken out of play and cleared by a health care provider if they may have sustained a concussion. This law would include students attending charter and private schools as well. The law would also require all schools to provide written concussion information to families.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1.7 million concussions are treated nationwide each year. Most concussions are sustained by children. Physicians believe that children experience more serious after-effects from head injuries and require a longer time to heal than do adults. Reports of concussions have increased markedly over the past decade likely due to increased awareness of the dangers of head injuries.
For more information, visit www.asmdc.org/fox.
(Information via press release from the office of Assemblymember Steve Fox.)
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