Today, all 50 states have some form of legislation regarding sport-related concussion.1 Because such policies vary widely, physical education teachers and other school personnel should take the time to understand their state and local concussion policies in addition to their school policy.2 Typically, this information can be found through each state’s official government website.
The following images provide a quick overview of several components of state concussion policy. This information is current as of June 2017.
As of June 2017, 48 states require that students suspected of sustaining a concussion be removed from play for the remainder of the day, or 24 hours. Arizona and South Carolina allow such athletes to return to play the same day if cleared by a healthcare professional.
The consensus from the Berlin Guidelines is for a graduated return-to-play strategy, typically of five days.3 Two states mandated longer periods of time for returning to play (California, seven days; New Mexico, 10 days).