Brain injury; protocols to be used by coaches for brain injuries received by students in school athletic activities; training of coaches and student athletes; information to be provided to coaches, student athletes and student athletes' parents or guardians; requiring acknowledgment of training and information; nonscholastic youth athletic activity on school district property; brain injury protocol compliance; certification
NMSA 1978, § 22-13-31
in effect22-13-31. Brain injury; protocols to be used by coaches for brain injuries received by students in school athletic activities; training of coaches and student athletes; information to be provided to coaches, student athletes and student athletes' parents or guardians; requiring acknowledgment of training and information; nonscholastic youth athletic activity on school district property; brain injury protocol compliance; certification
A. A coach shall not allow a student athlete to participate in a school athletic activity on the same day that the student athlete:
(1) exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a brain injury after a coach, a school official or a student athlete reports, observes or suspects that a student athlete exhibiting these signs, symptoms or behaviors has sustained a brain injury; or
(2) has been diagnosed with a brain injury.
B. A coach may allow a student athlete who has been prohibited from participating in a school athletic activity pursuant to Subsection A of this section to participate in a school athletic activity no sooner than two hundred forty hours from the hour in which the student athlete received a brain injury and only after the student athlete:
(1) no longer exhibits any sign, symptom or behavior consistent with a brain injury; and
(2) receives a written medical release from a licensed health care professional.
C. Each school district shall ensure that each coach participating in school athletic activities and each student athlete in the school district receives training provided pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of this section.
D. The New Mexico activities association shall consult with the brain injury advisory council and school districts to promulgate rules to establish:
(1) protocols and content consistent with current medical knowledge for training each coach participating in school athletic activities and each student athlete to:
(a) understand the nature and risk of brain injury associated with athletic activity;
(b) recognize signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a brain injury when a coach or student athlete suspects or observes that a student athlete has received a brain injury;
(c) understand the need to alert appropriate medical professionals for urgent diagnosis or treatment; and
(d) understand the need to follow medical direction for proper medical protocols; and
(2) the nature and content of brain injury training and information forms and educational materials for, and the means of providing these forms and materials to, coaches, student athletes and student athletes' parents or guardians regarding the nature and risk of brain injury resulting from athletic activity, including the risk of continuing or returning to athletic activity after a brain injury.
E. At the beginning of each academic year or the first participation in school athletic activities by a student athlete during an academic year, a school district shall provide a brain injury training and information form created pursuant to Subsection D of this section to a student athlete and the student athlete's parent or guardian. The school district shall receive signatures on the brain injury training and information form from the student athlete and the student athlete's parent or guardian confirming that the student athlete has received the brain injury training required by this section and that the student athlete and parent or guardian understand the brain injury information before permitting the student athlete to begin or continue participating in school athletic activities for that academic year. The form required by this subsection may be contained on the student athlete sport physical form.
F. As a condition of permitting nonscholastic youth athletic activity to take place on school district property, the superintendent of a school district shall require the person offering the nonscholastic youth athletic activity to sign a certification that the nonscholastic youth athletic activity will follow the brain injury protocols established pursuant to Section 22-13-31.1 NMSA 1978.
G. As used in this section:
(1) "academic year" means any consecutive period of two semesters, three quarters or other comparable units commencing with the fall term each year;
(2) "brain injury" means a body-altering physical trauma to the brain, skull or neck caused by, but not limited to, blunt or penetrating force, concussion, diffuse axonal injury, hypoxia-anoxia or electrical charge;
(3) "licensed health care professional" means:
(a) a practicing physician or physician assistant licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act;
(b) a practicing osteopathic physician licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 6 NMSA 1978];
(c) a practicing certified nurse practitioner licensed pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 3 NMSA 1978];
(d) a practicing osteopathic physician assistant licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act;
(e) a practicing psychologist licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Professional Psychologist Act [Chapter 61, Article 9 NMSA 1978];
(f) a practicing athletic trainer licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Athletic Trainer Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 14D NMSA 1978]; or
(g) a practicing physical therapist licensed pursuant to the Physical Therapy Act [61-12D-1 to 61-12D-19 NMSA 1978];
(4) "nonscholastic youth athletic activity" means an organized athletic activity in which the participants, a majority of whom are under nineteen years of age, are engaged in an athletic game or competition against another team, club or entity, or in practice or preparation for an organized athletic game or competition against another team, club or entity. "Nonscholastic youth athletic activity" does not include an elementary school, middle school, high school, college or university activity or an activity that is incidental to a nonathletic program;
(5) "school athletic activity" means a sanctioned middle school, junior high school or senior high school function that the New Mexico activities association regulates; and
(6) "student athlete" means a middle school, junior high school or senior high school student who engages in, is eligible to engage in or seeks to engage in a school athletic activity.
Laws 2010, ch. 96 § 1; 2016, ch. 53, § 1; 2017, ch. 69, § 1; 2021, ch. 54, § 6.
Source: New Mexico Compilation Commission (nmonesource.com)URL: https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa-unanno/en/item/18522/index.do#!b/22-13-31Fetched: 10/20/2026