Two New Pieces of Legislation Passed

By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Tuesday, July 19, 2011 2:37 PM

Two new pieces of legislation that were passed by the 82nd Legislature require action on the part of UIL member schools. Both bills will go in to effect on Sept. 1, 2011 and by reading the information posted on the UIL website, member schools will be more likely to stay in compliance.

Under House Bill 2038, each district will need to appoint or approve a Concussion Oversight Team to establish a return-to-play protocol. The bill states that local Concussion Oversight Teams must adopt the UIL Concussion Management Protocol at the very least but are given the discretion to create a more restrictive protocol. To see further information and House Bill 2038, please go to http://www.uiltexas.org/health/info/concussions.

House Bill 675 relates to the age and reconditioning of football helmets. This bill prohibits schools from using helmets that are older than 16 years and requires that all helmets that are 10 years old or older to be reconditioned at least once every two years. Even though this takes effect Sept. 1, 2011, it does not apply until the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year.

For any questions regarding these two new pieces of legislation, please contact Dr. Jamey Harrison, UIL Deputy Director, or Dr. Mark Cousins, UIL Director of Athletics at the UIL office.