Sports safety course required for interscholastic coaches -- Training and education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-specific emergency action plans
KRS 160.445
in effect160.445. Sports safety course required for interscholastic coaches -- Training and education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-specific emergency action plans
(1) (a) The Kentucky Board of Education or organization or agency de signated by the board to manage interscholastic athletics shall require each interscholastic coach to complete a sports safety course consisting of training on how to prevent common injuries. The content of the course shall include but not be limited to emergency planning, heat and cold illnesses, emergency recognition, head injuries including concussions, neck injuries, facial injuries, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of a portable automated external defibrillator in accordance with KRS 311.667, and pri nciples of first aid. The course shall also be focused on safety education and shall not include coaching principles.
(b) The state board or its agency shall: 1. Establish a minimum timeline for a coach to complete the course; 2. Approve providers of a sports safety course; 3. Be responsible for ensuring that an approved course is taught by qualified professionals who shall either be athletic trainers, registered nurses, physicians, or physician's assistants licensed to practice in Kentucky; 4. Establish the minimum qualifying score for successful course completion; and 5. Require a coach to earn a cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification recognized by a national accrediting body on heart health.
(c) A course shall be reviewed for updates at least once ev ery thirty (30) months and revised if needed.
(d) A course shall be able to be completed through hands-on or online teaching methods in ten (10) clock hours or less.
(e) 1. A course shall include an end-of-course examination with a minimum qualifying score for successful course completion established by the board or its agency. 2. All coaches shall be required to take the end -of-course examination and shall obtain at least the minimum qualifying score.
(f) At least one (1) person who has completed the course shall be at every interscholastic athletic practice and competition.
(2) (a) The state board or its agency shall require each interscholastic coach to complete training on how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how to seek proper medical treatment for a person suspected of having a concussion. The training shall be approved by the state board or its agency and may be included in the sports safety course required under subsection
(1)(a) of this section.
(b) The board or its agency shall develop guidelines and other pertinent information or adopt materials produ ced by other agencies to inform and educate student athletes and their parents or legal guardians of the nature and risk of concussion and head injury, including the continuance of play after concussion or head injury. Any required physical examination and parental authorization shall include acknowledgement of the education information required under this paragraph.
(c) Upon request, the board or its agency shall make available to the public any training materials developed by the board or agency used to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection. The board or its agency shall not be held liable for the use of any training materials so disseminated.
(3) (a) A student athlete suspected by an interscholastic coach, school athletic personnel, or contest official of sustaining a concussion during an athletic practice or competition shall be removed from play at that time and shall not return to play prior to the ending of the practice or competition until the athlete is evaluated to determine if a concussion has occurred. The evaluation shall be completed by a physician or a licensed health care provider whose scope of practice and training includes the evaluation and management of concussions and other brain injuries. A student athlete shall not return to play on the date of a suspected concussion absent the required evaluation.
(b) 1. Upon completion of the required evaluation, a coach: a. May return a student athlete to play if the physician or licensed health care provider determines that no concussion has occurred; or b. Shall not return a student athlete to play if the physician or licensed health care provider determines that a concussion has occurred. 2. If no physician or licensed health care provider described in paragraph (a) of this subsection is present at the practice or competition to perform the required evaluation, a coach shall not return a student athlete to play who is suspected of sustaining a concussion. The student athlete shall not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice or athletic competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.
(c) A student athlete deemed to be concussed shall not return to participate in any athletic practice or competition occurring on the day of the injury. The injured student athlete shall not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice or athletic competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.
(4) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics that encourage each school that participates in interscholastic athletics to provide access to at least one (1) portable automated external defibrillator in a public, readily accessible, well-marked location at each school-sanctioned athletic practice or competition, including any practice or competition held off campus.
(5) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics conducted by local boards of education to require each school that participates in interscholastic athletics to develop a venue-specific emergency action plan to deal with serious injuries and acute medical conditions in which the condition of the patient may deteriorate rapidly. The plan shall:
(a) Include a delineation of the roles of staff and emergency personnel, methods of communication, available emergency equipment, and access to and plan for emergency transport;
(b) If one is available, identify the location of a portable automated external defibrillator and the procedures for its use during an emergency; and
(c) Be in writing, reviewed by the principal of the school, distributed to all appropriate personnel, posted conspicuously at all venues, and reviewed annually and rehearsed by simulation prior to the beginning of each athletic season by all: 1. Licensed athletic trainers, first responders, school nurses, athletic directors; and 2. Interscholastic coaches and volunteer coaches of each athletic team active during that athletic season.
(6) Each school shall submit annual written certification to the state board or its agency of the existence of a venue-specific emergency action plan that the school has reviewed and rehearsed by simulation as required by subsection (5)(c) of this section.
(7) Each school shall maintain complete and accurate records of its compliance with this section and shall make the records available for review by the state board or its agency upon request.
Effective: June 29, 2023
History: Amended 2023 Ky. Acts ch. 165, sec. 5, effective June 29, 2023. -- Amended 2017 Ky. Acts ch. 160, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2017. -- Amended 2013 Ky. Acts ch. 30, sec. 8, effective June 25, 2013. -- Amended 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 72, sec. 1, effective April 11, 2012. -- Created 2009 Ky. Acts ch. 90, sec. 2, effective March 24, 2009.
Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54120Fetched: 10/20/2026