Dozens of states consider legislation to address concussion awareness, treatment.

The New York Times (1/31, SP2, Schwarz) reported that “dozens of state lawmakers consider legislation to improve awareness and treatment of concussions in youth sports” in a movement that “started in the Pacific Northwest” and “is wafting across the United States.” Washington and Oregon were the first states to pass “concussion-specific laws covering scholastic sports” that “mandated education for coaches, immediate removal from play of any athlete suspected of a concussion in a game or practice, and proper medical clearance before that athlete could return.” Now, the Zackery Lystedt Brain Project, “spearheaded by the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation and the American College of Sports Medicine,” aims to “continue those organizations’ push for states to enact” similar laws.