August 02, 2021

Concussions: 

The Nebraska Unicameral has found that concussions are one of the “most commonly reported injuries in children and adolescents who participate in sports and recreational activities and that the risk of catastrophic injury or death is significant when a concussion or brain injury is not properly evaluated and managed.” 

The School District will require all coaches and trainers to complete one of the following on-line courses on how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion or brain injury and how to seek proper medical treatment for a concussion or brain injury: 

• Heads UP Concussions in Youth Sports

• Concussion in Sports—What You Need to Know

• Sports Safety International

• ConcussionWise 

• ACTive™Athletic Concussion Training for Coaches; and 

On an annual basis provide concussion and brain injury information to students and their parents or guardians prior to such students initiating practice or competition.  This information will include:

1. The signs and symptoms of a concussion;

2. The risks posed by sustaining a concussion; and

3. The actions a student should take in response to sustaining a concussion, including the notification of his or her coaches.

A student who participates on a school athletic team must be removed from a practice or game when he/she is reasonably suspected of having sustained a concussion or brain injury in such practice or game after observation by a coach or a licensed health care professional who is professionally affiliated with or contracted by the school. The student will not be permitted to participate in any school supervised team athletic activities involving physical exertion, including practices or games, until the student:

1. has been evaluated by a licensed healthcare professional;

2. has received written and signed clearance to resume participation in athletic activities from the licensed healthcare professional; and

3. has submitted the written and signed clearance to resume participation in athletic activities to the school accompanied by written permission to resume participation from the student’s parent or guardian.

If a student is reasonably suspected after observation of having sustained a concussion or brain injury and is removed from an athletic activity, the parent or guardian of the student will be notified by the school of:

1. the date and approximate time of the injury suffered by the student,

2. the signs and symptoms of a concussion or brain injury that were observed, and

3. any actions taken to treat the student.

The school district will not provide for the presence of a licensed health care professional at any practice or game.

School officials shall deem the signature of an individual who represents that he/she is a licensed health care professional on a written clearance to resume participation that is provided to the school to be conclusive and reliable evidence that the individual who signed the clearance is a licensed healthcare professional. The school will not take any additional or independent steps to verify the individual’s qualifications.

Students who have sustained a concussion and returned to school may need informal or formal accommodations, modifications of curriculum, and monitoring by medical or academic staff until the student is fully recovered.  The school's "return to learn protocol" shall be the guidance provided by the Nebraska Department of Education entitled “Bridging the Gap from Concussion to the Classroom,” and accompanying materials and future supplements.  Nothing in this policy or the referenced protocol shall entitle a student who has sustained a concussion to an individualized plan under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, although staff will refer students who have sustained a concussion for evaluation under Section 504 as appropriate.