{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-160.445","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 160.445","heading":"Sports safety course required for interscholastic coaches -- Training and","body":"education on symptoms, treatment, and risks of concussion -- Venue-specific\nemergency action plans.\n(1) (a) The Kentucky Board of Education or organization or agency de signated by\nthe board to manage interscholastic athletics shall require each interscholastic\ncoach to complete a sports safety course consisting of training on how to\nprevent common injuries. The content of the course shall include but not be\nlimited to em ergency planning, heat and cold illnesses, emergency\nrecognition, head injuries including concussions, neck injuries, facial injuries,\ncardiopulmonary resuscitation, use of a portable automated external\ndefibrillator in accordance with KRS 311.667, and pri nciples of first aid. The\ncourse shall also be focused on safety education and shall not include\ncoaching principles.\n(b) The state board or its agency shall:\n1. Establish a minimum timeline for a coach to complete the course;\n2. Approve providers of a sports safety course;\n3. Be responsible for ensuring that an approved course is taught by\nqualified professionals who shall either be athletic trainers, registered\nnurses, physicians, or physician's assistants licensed to practice in\nKentucky;\n4. Establish th e minimum qualifying score for successful course\ncompletion; and\n5. Require a coach to earn a cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification\nrecognized by a national accrediting body on heart health.\n(c) A course shall be reviewed for updates at least once ev ery thirty (30) months\nand revised if needed.\n(d) A course shall be  able to be completed through hands -on or online teaching\nmethods in ten (10) clock hours or less.\n(e) 1. A course shall include an end -of-course examination with a minimum\nqualifying score for successful course completion established by the\nboard or its agency.\n2. All coaches shall be required to take the end -of-course examination and\nshall obtain at least the minimum qualifying score.\n(f) At least one (1) person who has completed the course shall be at every\ninterscholastic athletic practice and competition.\n(2) (a) The state board or its agency shall require each interscholastic coach to\ncomplete training on how to recognize the symptoms of a concussion and how\nto seek proper medical treatment for a person suspected of having a\nconcussion. The training sh all be approved by the state board or its agency\nand may be included in the sports safety course required under subsection\n(1)(a) of this section.\n(b) The board or its agency shall develop guidelines and other pertinent\ninformation or adopt materials produ ced by other agencies to inform and\neducate student athletes and their parents or legal guardians of the nature and\nrisk of concussion and head injury, including the continuance of play after\nconcussion or head injury. Any required physical examination and  parental\nauthorization shall include acknowledgement of the education information\nrequired under this paragraph.\n(c) Upon request, the board or its agency shall make available to the public any\ntraining materials developed by the board or agency used to s atisfy the\nrequirements of paragraph (a) of this subsection. The board or its agency shall\nnot be held liable for the use of any training materials so disseminated.\n(3) (a) A student athlete suspected by an interscholastic coach, school athletic\npersonnel, or contest official of sustaining a concussion during an athletic\npractice or competition shall be removed from play at that time and shall not\nreturn to play prior to the ending of the practice or competition until the\nathlete is evaluated to determine i f a concussion has occurred. The evaluation\nshall be completed by a physician or a licensed health care provider whose\nscope of practice and training includes the evaluation and management of\nconcussions and other brain injuries. A student athlete shall no t return to play\non the date of a suspected concussion absent the required evaluation.\n(b) 1. Upon completion of the required evaluation, a coach:\na. May return a student athlete to play if the physician or licensed\nhealth care provider determines that no concussion has occurred;\nor\nb. Shall not return a student athlete to play if the physician or\nlicensed health care provider determines that a concussion has\noccurred.\n2. If no physician or licensed health care provider described in paragraph\n(a) of this subsection is present at the practice or competition to perform\nthe required evaluation, a coach shall not return a student athlete to play\nwho is suspected of sustaining a concussion. The student athlete shall\nnot be allowed to participate in any subsequent  practice or athletic\ncompetition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.\n(c) A student athlete deemed to be concussed shall not return to participate in any\nathletic practice or competition occurring on the day of the injury. The injured\nstudent athlete shall not be allowed to participate in any subsequent practice\nor athletic competition unless written clearance from a physician is provided.\n(4) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics\nthat encoura ge each school that participates in interscholastic athletics to provide\naccess to at least one (1) portable automated external defibrillator in a public,\nreadily accessible, well-marked location at each school -sanctioned athletic practice\nor competition, including any practice or competition held off campus.\n(5) The state board or its agency shall adopt rules governing interscholastic athletics\nconducted by local boards of education to require each school that participates in\ninterscholastic athletics to d evelop a venue -specific emergency action plan to deal\nwith serious injuries and acute medical conditions in which the condition of the\npatient may deteriorate rapidly. The plan shall:\n(a) Include a delineation of the roles of staff and emergency personnel,  methods\nof communication, available emergency equipment, and access to and plan for\nemergency transport;\n(b) If one is available, identify the location of a portable automated external\ndefibrillator and the procedures for its use during an emergency; and\n(c) Be in writing, reviewed by the principal of the school, distributed to all\nappropriate personnel, posted conspicuously at all venues, and reviewed\nannually and rehearsed by simulation prior to the beginning of each athletic\nseason by all:\n1. Licensed a thletic trainers, first responders, school nurses, athletic\ndirectors; and\n2. Interscholastic coaches and volunteer coaches of each athletic team\nactive during that athletic season.\n(6) Each school shall submit annual written certification to the state boa rd or its agency\nof the existence of a venue -specific emergency action plan that the school has\nreviewed and rehearsed by simulation as required by subsection (5)(c) of this\nsection.\n(7) Each school shall maintain complete and accurate records of its compl iance with\nthis section and shall make the records available for review by the state board or its\nagency upon request.","path":["KRS Chapter 160"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54120","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:08Z","sha256":"86baf38f5256d1e5f73d7b9eebf47588054c34b7405926f426d83561f31c80e1","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-160.440","next":"us-ky/krs-160.450"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}