A. A coach shall not allow a student athlete to participate in a school athletic activity on the same day that the student athlete:
(1) exhibits signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a brain injury after a coach, a school official or a student athlete reports, observes or suspects that a student athlete exhibiting these signs, symptoms or behaviors has sustained a brain injury; or
(2) has been diagnosed with a brain injury.
B. A coach may allow a student athlete who has been prohibited from participating in a school athletic activity pursuant to Subsection A of this section to participate in a school athletic activity no sooner than two hundred forty hours from the hour in which the student athlete received a brain injury and only after the student athlete:
(1) no longer exhibits any sign, symptom or behavior consistent with a brain injury; and
(2) receives a written medical release from a licensed health care professional.
C. Each school district shall ensure that each coach participating in school athletic activities and each student athlete in the school district receives training provided pursuant to Paragraph (1) of Subsection D of this section.
D. The New Mexico activities association shall consult with the brain injury advisory council and school districts to promulgate rules to establish:
(1) protocols and content consistent with current medical knowledge for training each coach participating in school athletic activities and each student athlete to:
(a) understand the nature and risk of brain injury associated with athletic activity;
(b) recognize signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a brain injury when a coach or student athlete suspects or observes that a student athlete has received a brain injury;
(c) understand the need to alert appropriate medical professionals for urgent diagnosis or treatment; and
(d) understand the need to follow medical direction for proper medical protocols; and
(2) the nature and content of brain injury training and information forms and educational materials for, and the means of providing these forms and materials to, coaches, student athletes and student athletes' parents or guardians regarding the nature and risk of brain injury resulting from athletic activity, including the risk of continuing or returning to athletic activity after a brain injury.
E. At the beginning of each academic year or the first participation in school athletic activities by a student athlete during an academic year, a school district shall provide a brain injury training and information form created pursuant to Subsection D of this section to a student athlete and the student athlete's parent or guardian. The school district shall receive signatures on the brain injury training and information form from the student athlete and the student athlete's parent or guardian confirming that the student athlete has received the brain injury training required by this section and that the student athlete and parent or guardian understand the brain injury information before permitting the student athlete to begin or continue participating in school athletic activities for that academic year. The form required by this subsection may be contained on the student athlete sport physical form.
F. As a condition of permitting nonscholastic youth athletic activity to take place on school district property, the superintendent of a school district shall require the person offering the nonscholastic youth athletic activity to sign a certification that the nonscholastic youth athletic activity will follow the brain injury protocols established pursuant to Section 22-13-31.1 NMSA 1978.
G. As used in this section:
(1) "academic year" means any consecutive period of two semesters, three quarters or other comparable units commencing with the fall term each year;
(2) "brain injury" means a body-altering physical trauma to the brain, skull or neck caused by, but not limited to, blunt or penetrating force, concussion, diffuse axonal injury, hypoxia-anoxia or electrical charge;
(3) "licensed health care professional" means:
(a) a practicing physician or physician assistant licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act;
(b) a practicing osteopathic physician licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 6 NMSA 1978];
(c) a practicing certified nurse practitioner licensed pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 3 NMSA 1978];
(d) a practicing osteopathic physician assistant licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act;
(e) a practicing psychologist licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Professional Psychologist Act [Chapter 61, Article 9 NMSA 1978];
(f) a practicing athletic trainer licensed pursuant to the provisions of the Athletic Trainer Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 14D NMSA 1978]; or
(g) a practicing physical therapist licensed pursuant to the Physical Therapy Act [61-12D-1 to 61-12D-19 NMSA 1978];
(4) "nonscholastic youth athletic activity" means an organized athletic activity in which the participants, a majority of whom are under nineteen years of age, are engaged in an athletic game or competition against another team, club or entity, or in practice or preparation for an organized athletic game or competition against another team, club or entity. "Nonscholastic youth athletic activity" does not include an elementary school, middle school, high school, college or university activity or an activity that is incidental to a nonathletic program;
(5) "school athletic activity" means a sanctioned middle school, junior high school or senior high school function that the New Mexico activities association regulates; and
(6) "student athlete" means a middle school, junior high school or senior high school student who engages in, is eligible to engage in or seeks to engage in a school athletic activity.
History: Laws 2010, ch. 96 § 1; 2016, ch. 53, § 1; 2017, ch. 69, § 1; 2021, ch. 54, § 6.
The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, removed osteopathic physicians and practicing osteopathic physician assistants licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Medicine Act from the definition of "licensed health care professional", and added osteopathic physicians and practicing osteopathic physician assistants licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act to the definition of "licensed health care professional"; and in Subsection G, changed "Osteopathic Medicine" to "Medical Practice" throughout.
The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, required brain injury training for student athletes, and required acknowledgment of training and information by the student athlete; in the catchline, added "and student athletes", and added "requiring acknowledgment of training and information"; in Subsection C, after "school athletic activities", added "and each student athlete"; in Subsection D, Paragraph D(1), in the introductory clause, after "school athletic activities, added "and each student athlete", in Subparagraph D(1)(b), after "coach", added "or student athlete", in Paragraph D(2), after the first occurrence of "brain injury", added "training and"; in Subsection E, after "academic year or", added "the first", after "school athletic activities", added "by a student athlete during an academic year", after the first occurrence of "brain injury", added "training and", after "athlete's parent or guardian", added "confirming that the student athlete has received the brain injury training required by this section and that the student athlete and parent or guardian understand the brain injury information", and added the last sentence of the subsection; in Subsection F, changed "2 of this 2016 act" to "22-13-31.1 NMSA 1978"; and in Subsection G, Subparagraph G(3)(b), after "licensed pursuant to", deleted "Chapter 61, Article 10 NMSA 1978" and added "the Osteopathic Medicine Act", and in Subparagraph G(3)(d), after "Osteopathic", deleted "Physicians' Assistants" and added "Medicine".
The 2016 amendment, effective May 18, 2016, extended the time out of commission for student athletes who have suffered a possible brain injury, and established a brain injury protocol compliance certification for nonscholastic youth athletic activities taking place on school district property; in the catchline, added "nonscholastic youth athletic activity on school district property; brain injury protocol compliance; certification"; in Subsection B, in the introductory sentence, after "activity no sooner than", deleted "one week after" and added "two hundred forty hours from the hour in which", in Paragraph (2), after "receives a", added "written"; added new Subsection F and redesignated former Subsection F as Subsection G; in Subsection G, added new Paragraphs (3) and (4) and redesignated former Paragraphs (3) and (4) as Paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively, deleted former Paragraph (5), and in Paragraph (6), after "school athletic activity", deleted "and".
Structure New Mexico Statutes
Article 13 - Courses of Instruction and School Programs
Section 22-13-1 - Subject areas; minimum instructional areas required; accreditation.
Section 22-13-1.1 - Graduation requirements.
Section 22-13-1.2 - High school curricula and end-of-course tests; alignment.
Section 22-13-1.3 - Reading initiative; design.
Section 22-13-1.5 - Core curriculum framework; purpose; curriculum.
Section 22-13-1.6 - Uniform grade and subject curricula; professional department [development].
Section 22-13-1.7 - Elementary physical education.
Section 22-13-3 - Early childhood education programs required.
Section 22-13-3.2 - Full-day kindergarten programs.
Section 22-13-3.3 - Short title.
Section 22-13-3.5 - Definitions.
Section 22-13-3.6 - Literacy for children at risk fund created; administration of fund.
Section 22-13-3.7 - Disbursement of funds; approved projects.
Section 22-13-5 - Special education.
Section 22-13-6 - Special education; definitions.
Section 22-13-6.1 - Gifted children; determination.
Section 22-13-7 - Special education; responsibility.
Section 22-13-12 - Approved driver-education courses.
Section 22-13-13 - School lunch program.
Section 22-13-13.1 - Temporary provision; food and beverages sold outside of school meal programs.
Section 22-13-13.2 - Breakfast program required; waiver; distribution of funds.
Section 22-13-14 - Emergency drills; requirement.
Section 22-13-15 - Public school instruction; prohibition; penalty.
Section 22-13-16 - Private school programs; solicitations; permit; penalty.
Section 22-13-25 - Academic competitions.
Section 22-13-26 - Youth programs established.
Section 22-13-27 - Recompiled.
Section 22-13-28.1 - Repealed.
Section 22-13-28.2 - Repealed.
Section 22-13-29 - Middle and high school literacy initiative.
Section 22-13-30 - Vision screening.
Section 22-13-31.1 - Brain injury; protocols; training of coaches; brain injury education.
Section 22-13-32 - Intervention for students displaying characteristics of dyslexia.
Section 22-13-33 - Appointing a point of contact person for certain students.