Sudden cardiac arrest prevention in student-athletes
Va. Code Ann. § 22.1-271.8
in effectA. The Board of Education shall develop, biennially update, and distribute to each local school division guidelines on policies to inform and educate coaches, student-athletes, and student-athletes' parents or guardians about the nature and risk of sudden cardiac arrest, procedures for removal from and return to play, and the risks of not reporting symptoms. The guidelines shall also be posted on the Department's website.
B. Each local school division shall develop and biennially update policies and procedures regarding the identification and handling of symptoms that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest in student-athletes. Such policies shall:
1. Require that in order to participate in any extracurricular physical activity, each student-athlete and the student-athlete's parent or guardian shall review, on an annual basis, information provided by the local school division on symptoms that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest. After reviewing the materials, each student-athlete and the student-athlete's parent or guardian shall sign a statement acknowledging receipt of such information, in a manner approved by the Board of Education.
2. Require that a student-athlete who is experiencing symptoms that may lead to sudden cardiac arrest be immediately removed from play. A student-athlete who is removed from play shall not return to play until he is evaluated by and receives written clearance to return to physical activity by an appropriate licensed health care provider as determined by the Board of Education. The licensed health care provider evaluating student-athletes may be a volunteer.
2020, c. 694 .
Source: Open US Law by Vaquill AI (CC BY 4.0)URL: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/22.1-271.8/Fetched: 10/16/2026