The DeKalb County Board of Education  adopted a policy to help reduce concussions on first reading Thursday night.
The measure, while recommended by the Tennessee School Boards Association, is also new state law, passed earlier this year. It will take effect on Jan. 1.
The new guidelines will require young athletes to learn about the dangers of concussions. It also lays out a plan to help make certain that players who suffer head trauma do not return to competition until they are fully healed.
The new protocols demand that not only football, but all youth sports leagues adopt the rules. The law will encompass all recreational leagues for players under 18 that charge a fee to participate, as well school teams, both public and private.
The new rules demand that administrators, coaches, parents and athletes involved in youth sports programs be educated on the dangers of concussions, and to sign a document verifying that they understand those dangers. Any player displaying symptoms of a concussion would be taken out of play until cleared by a doctor, osteopath or neuropsychologist.
Attendance Supervisor Joey Reeder, also a long-time baseball and football coach at DCHS addressed the board concerning the matter Thursday evening.
“We just got this on Tuesday, and I haven’t had a lot of time to study it, but I think this is a minimum standard that we will have to adhere to. I have heard that some counties are even going more stringent than this,” Reeder told the board.
He said there was some uncertainty about how much responsibility the school system has to see that leagues who use their facilities comply.
“We may have some questions about some of our youth leagues that use our facilities and getting those approved,” Reeder said. “That is something we'll have to look at between now and next month. We all know concussions are at the forefront of everything right now. We certainly want all of our student athletes healthy when they go to play. I assume if the TSBA approved this, they have checked it pretty thoroughly. My biggest question is about junior pro football and basketball. There is a check list that all coaches have to sign that they have been trained,” he concluded.
The board will vote on the second and final reading of the new policy at next month’s regular meeting. Director of Schools Mark Willoughby said he plans to have more information before that vote is taken. The board has little choice in the matter, as the law will go into effect at the beginning of the new year.
Tennessee became the 44th state to adopt this measure when it passed the law in April.