Beginning this fall, Virginia Code 22.1-271.5 requires all student-athletes and a parent complete an annual concussion education program. It is up to each school district to develop a program, implement it, and track each student-athlete’s and parent’s participation.
The Fairfax County Public Schools Athletic Training Program has devised an online presentation that will fulfill this requirement for the county’s 25 high schools and 20,000+ athletes. This presentation can be found at www.fcps.edu/sports.
Each student-athlete and their parent/guardian must complete this program before the first day of practice or try-outs. It is not necessary to view the presentation multiple times if a student-athlete participates in multiple seasons and parents/guardians need to complete the program only once for all of the children in their household.
Parents may also visit the Center for Disease Control’s website for more information and handouts regarding concussions at www.cdc.gov/concussioninyouthsports. You may also receive more information by contacting our school’s certified athletic trainer.