BILL NUMBER: AB 760 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 553

FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 7, 2001
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 5, 2001

PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 12, 2001

PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 10, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 28, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 19, 2001
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2001

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Shelley
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Strickland)
(Coauthors: Senators Bowen, Kuehl, and O’Connell)

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FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to add Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 116091) to Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to school athletics safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
AB 760, Shelley. School athletics: safety.

Existing law requires the governing board of any educational institution to provide for each member of an athletic team insurance protection for medical and hospital expenses. Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district to make available ambulance service for athletic events. Existing law requests the University of California to design and conduct a study of pupil injuries resulting from participation in high school athletic events.

This bill would, subject to an appropriation in the 2001-02 Budget Act, provide grants to fund pilot projects that enter into partnerships to support safety in high school interscholastic athletics. This bill would authorize the department to contract with statewide nonprofit organizations to administer the program and would require the department or that organization to request and review proposals from grant applicants. The bill would require the department, or its administering nonprofit organization, to report to the Legislature.

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) has released findings from a study of injuries to high school athletes in nearly 250 schools over a three-year period. The study found that the majority of reported injuries to high school pupils occurred during practice sessions.
(b) Injury prevention programs can substantially reduce the risk of injury to pupils and should be in place for practice sessions as well as games.
(c) The prevention of re-injury through daily injury management is a critical part of an injury prevention program.
(d) The American Medical Association has recognized the benefits of athletic training and recommends the use of certified athletic trainers in all high school athletic programs.
(e) School districts are required to provide health insurance coverage for pupils who participate in athletic programs.
(f) To begin to ensure the safety and opportunity of all pupils interested in participating in high school athletics, it is necessary to provide insurance coverage and other support systems relevant to a healthy environment for student-athletes.

SEC. 2. Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 116091) is added to Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:

CHAPTER 6. PILOT PROJECT FOR SCHOOL ATHLETICS SAFETY
116091. The Pupil Athletic Access and Safety Program pilot project is hereby established in the State Department of Education for the purpose of providing grants to private statewide nonprofit organizations in two regions to support a partnership to facilitate pupil participation and safety in high school interscholastic athletics that would primarily benefit low-income pupils.
116092. (a) One of the pilot projects shall be in southern California.
(b) One of the pilot projects shall be in northern California.

116093. (a) A pilot project shall use grant funds for all of the following purposes:
(1) To provide onsite nationally certified athletic trainers to participating schools. The project may provide a certified athletic trainer, or funds to help pay the costs associated with ensuring that there is an onsite athletic trainer, for at least 30 hours per week.
Funds received pursuant to this section shall be used only to provide supplemental staff or services and shall not displace or reduce existing staff or services. Athletic trainers provided pursuant to this section shall not displace or reduce the hours or benefits available to any classified or certified employee who provides athletic training services for participating schools prior to the effective date of this section. A participating school that currently employs an athletic trainer shall coordinate the use of his or her services with the pilot project.
(2) To provide appropriate medical supplies and other supplies necessary to prevent and care for sports-related injuries.
(3) To provide in-service meetings for coaches and trainers, and to ensure that coaches and trainers receive first aid and CPR certification.
(4) To provide mentoring opportunities for pupils interested in the medical and athletic training fields.
(5) To provide community educational seminars for pupils, parents, trainers, coaches, and administrators on nutrition, the avoidance of drugs, and on injuries and prevention.
(6) To inform pupils about the availability of low-cost health insurance, including Medi-Cal and the Healthy Families Program.
(7) To provide strength training workshops for pupil-athletes and an off-season training program.
(b) Health care providers, including athletic trainers who participate in the pilot project shall not refer pupils to their own practice, to the practice of the other health care providers participating in the pilot project, or to the practice of other health care providers in whose practice they have a financial interest.

116094. (a) The State Department of Education shall establish a competitive grant process for private, nonprofit organizations that are registered with the Secretary of State to submit a grant application for the development, administration, and implementation of the Pupil Athletic Access and Safety Program.

(b) No later than May 1, 2002, the department, or its administering contracting entity, shall request and review proposals submitted by entities eligible for grants pursuant to this chapter. By June 1, 2002, the department, or its administering contracting entity, shall select a proposal for each of the two regions for receipt of a grant. The selected proposal shall meet the criteria set forth in this chapter and shall be selected on the basis of its ability to provide the best, most feasible service to the largest number of schools and pupils in the pilot area.

(c) Proposals shall include all of the following:
(1) A description of the program goals.
(2) A list of measurable objectives for the purpose of evaluation by the department, or its administering contracting entity.
(3) A list of public secondary schools selected for participation, and the criteria used for selection of those schools.
(4) A list of professional participants with curriculum vitae and resumes attached. Athletic trainers who are proposed to participate in the program shall be certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association.
(5) A method of ensuring medical quality for the program.
(6) The method that will be used to gather and submit data to the department, or its administering contracting entity.
(7) A clear description of the experience, expertise, and other qualifications of the private, nonprofit organization.
(8) A proposed budget for expenditure of the grant, including a proposed fundraising plan to raise the dollar-for-dollar match as required in this chapter.

(d) The department, or its administering contracting entity, upon making a selection pursuant to this chapter, shall fund the grant no later than August 1, 2002.

(e) (1) The department may expend up to 10 percent of the funds appropriated for the purposes of this chapter for the costs associated with administration of the competitive grant process, medical quality assurance and program oversight, data collection, and evaluation of the pilot project. No additional funds may be used for administration, oversight, or implementation of this program.
(2) The department may contract with a nonprofit statewide organization that specializes in administration of high school interscholastic athletic programs to function as the department’s administering agency for the program. If the department enters into a contract pursuant to this paragraph, the funds provided for administrative costs as set forth in paragraph (1) shall be expended, pursuant to the contract, by the nonprofit organization in its administration of this program on behalf of the department. The administering contracting entity shall be responsible for all aspects of the program, including the establishment of the competitive grant process, the selection of grantees and awarding of grants, program administration, monitoring, and evaluation, and the report required pursuant to Section 116095.
(f) The department, or its administering contracting entity, shall monitor and evaluate the program to ensure the performance and effectiveness of the program, including the following:
(1) Success in obtaining stated goals.
(2) Success in the pupil mentoring and scholarship programs.
(3) Reduction in injuries that occur during practice sessions and during actual athletic competitions.
(4) Reduction in recurring injury incidents.

(g) For the purpose of evaluating the programs, the department, or its administering contracting entity, shall, to the extent feasible, compare available data relating to injuries that occurred during practice sessions and official competitions in the school year prior to the existence of the pilot program, with comparable data collected in the second year of the pilot program.
If data regarding injuries has not been collected prior to the establishment of the pilot program, then data submitted by each grantee during the first six months of the program shall be used as baseline data to compare against data collected in the second year.

(h) In order to be eligible to receive funds pursuant to this chapter, a pilot project shall receive matching private funds equal to the public funds received.

116095. By January 1, 2005, the department, or its administering contracting entity, shall submit a report to the Legislature on the evaluation of the pilot projects pursuant to this chapter, including the number of schools and pupils assisted by or participating in the various components of the project, and the extent to which the measurable objectives listed in the proposal were met.

SEC. 3. This act shall be subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2001. It is the intent of the Legislature that funding appropriated in the Budget Act for the Pupil Athletic Access and Safety Program pilot project is a one-time appropriation for this purpose.

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