,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #caac  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,september #ag1      
#bjac,mr4 ,pascrell 7for himself and    
,mr4 ,rooney7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,energy and ,commerce  ,a 
,,bill  ,to amend title ,,iii of the    
,public ,health ,service ,act to provide
 for the establishment and              
implementation of guidelines on best    
practices for diagnosis1 treatment1 and 
management of mild traumatic brain      
injuries 7,m,t,b,is7 in school-aged     
children1 and for other purposes4  #a4  
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,concussion ,treatment and ,care    
,tools ,act of #bjac or the ,con,t,a,c,t
 ,act of #bjac4  #b4 ,findings ,congress
 finds the following3 7#a7 ,concussions 
are mild traumatic brain injuries1 the  
long-term effects of which are not well 
understood4  7#b7 ,according to the     
,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention 7,,cdc71 each year ,united  

,states emergency departments treat an  
estimated #agc1bhe sports- and          
recreation-related mild traumatic brain 
injuries 7,m,t,b,is71 including         
concussions1 among children and         
adolescents1 from birth to #ai years of 
age4 ,however1 this number does not     
capture the total number1 as many       
,m,t,b,is go undiagnosed4  7#c7 ,there  
is an increased risk for subsequent     
brain injuries among persons who have   
had at least one previous brain injury4 
7#d7 ,a repeat concussion1 one that     
occurs before the brain recovers from a 
previous concussion1 can slow recovery  
or increase the likelihood of having    
long-term problems4  7#e7 ,in rare      
cases1 repeat concussions can result in 
second impact syndrome1 which can be    
marked by brain swelling1 permanent     
brain damage1 and death4  7#f7          
,recurrent brain injuries and second    
impact syndrome are highly preventable4 
7#g7 ,many ,states have adopted         
concussion management rules and         

regulations1 but many schools lack the  
resources to implement best practices in
 concussion diagnosis and management4   
#c4 ,guidelines on best practices for   
diagnosis1 treatment1 and management of 
mild traumatic brain injuries in        
school-aged children ,part ,b of title  
,,iii of the ,public ,health ,service   
,act #f 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #bdc et seq47 is 
amended by inserting after section      
#cag,t the following3  #cag,u4          
,guidelines on best practices for       
diagnosis1 treatment1 and management of 
mild traumatic brain injuries in        
school-aged children  7a7 ,guidelines   
7#a7 ,by ,secretary ,not later than #ij 
days after issuance of the final report 
under paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary    
shall establish guidelines for ,states  
on the implementation of best practices 
for diagnosis1 treatment1 and management
 of ,m,t,b,is in school-aged children4  
7#b7 ,by ,panel ,not later than ,march  
#ae1 #bjae1 the ,pediatric ,,mtbi       
,guideline ,expert ,panel of the        

,centers for ,disease ,control and      
,prevention shall issue a final report  
on best practices for diagnosis1        
treatment1 and management of ,m,t,b,is  
in school-aged children4  7#c7 ,student 
athletes returning to play ,the         
guidelines under paragraph 7#a7 and the 
report under paragraph 7#b7 shall       
address best practices for diagnosis1   
treatment1 and management of ,m,t,b,is  
in student athletes returning to play   
after an ,,mtbi4  7b7 ,grants to ,states
  7#a7 ,in general ,after establishing  
the guidelines under subsection 7a77#a71
 the ,secretary may make grants to      
,states for purposes of-- 7,a7 adopting 
such guidelines1 and disseminating such 
guidelines to elementary and secondary  
schools2 and  7,b7 ensuring that        
elementary and secondary schools-- 7i7  
implement such guidelines2  7ii7 are    
adequately staffed with athletic        
trainers and other medical professionals
 necessary to implement such guidelines2
 and  7iii7 implement computerized      

pre-season baseline and post-injury     
neuropsychological testing for student  
athletes4  7#b7 ,grant applications     
7,a7 ,in general ,to be eligible to     
receive a grant under this section1 a   
,state shall submit an application to   
the ,secretary at such time1 in such    
manner1 and containing such information 
as the ,secretary may require4  7,b7    
,minimum contents ,the ,secretary shall 
require that an application of a ,state 
under subparagraph 7,a7 contain at a    
minimum-- 7i7 a description of the      
strategies the ,state will use to       
disseminate the guidelines under        
subsection 7a77#a7 to elementary and    
secondary schools1 and to ensure        
implementation of such guidelines by    
such schools1 including any strategic   
partnerships that the ,state will form2 
and  7ii7 an agreement by the ,state to 
periodically provide data with respect  
to the incidence of ,m,t,b,is and second
 impact syndrome among student athletes 
in the ,state4  7#c7 ,utilization of    

high school sports associations and     
local chapters of national brain injury 
organizations ,the ,secretary shall     
require ,states receiving grants under  
this section to utilize1 to the extent  
practicable1 applicable expertise and   
services offered by high school sports  
associations and local chapters of      
national brain injury organizations in  
such ,states4  7c7 ,coordination of     
activities ,in carrying out this        
section1 the ,secretary shall coordinate
 in an appropriate manner with the heads
 of other ,federal departments and      
agencies that carry out activities      
related to ,m,t,b,is4  7d7 ,report to   
,congress ,not later than #d years after
 the date of the enactment of this      
section1 the ,secretary shall submit to 
,congress a report on the implementation
 of subsection 7b7 and shall include in 
such report-- 7#a7 the number of ,states
 that have adopted the guidelines under 
subsection 7a77#a72  7#b7 the number of 
elementary and secondary schools that   

have implemented computerized pre-season
 baseline and post-injury               
neuro-psychological testing for student 
athletes2 and  7#c7 the data collected  
with respect to the incidence of        
,m,t,b,is and second impact syndrome    
among student athletes4  7e7            
,definitions ,in this section1 the      
following definitions apply3 7#a7 ,the  
term ,,mtbi means a mild traumatic brain
 injury4  7#b7 ,the term school-aged    
child means an individual in the range  
of #e through #ah years of age4  7#c7   
,the term second impact syndrome means  
catastrophic or fatal events that occur 
when an individual suffers an ,,mtbi    
while symptomatic and healing from a    
previous ,,mtbi4  7#d7 ,the term        
,secretary means the ,secretary of      
,health and ,human ,services1 acting    
through the ,director of the ,centers   
for ,disease ,control and ,prevention4  
7#e7 ,the term ,state means each of the 
#ej ,states and the ,district of        
,columbia4  7#f7 ,the term student      

athlete means a school-aged child in any
 of the grades #fth through #abth who   
participates in a sport through such    
child's elementary or secondary school4 
7f7 ,authorization of appropriations ,to
 carry out this section1 there are      
authorized to be appropriated #e1jjj1jjj
 for fiscal year #bjaf and such sums as 
may be necessary for each of fiscal     
years #bjag through #bjbj4  4