Senate Bill S4682

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4682

SPONSOR: MURRAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public health law, in relation to enacting "Josh's
law", requires training plans be approved prior to implementation in
modified and high school football

 
PURPOSE:

This bill enacts "Josh's Law" to require that training plans be approved
prior to implementation in modified and high school football.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section I states that this act shall be known and may be cited as
"Josh's Law."

Section 2 amends the title heading of title 7 of article 25 of public
health law.

              

Section 3 adds a new section 2596 to public health law to provide that
any member school of PSAL (Public Schools Athletic League) or NYSPHSAA
(New York State Public High School Athletic Association) having a modi-
fied or high school football team, must prepare and submit to PSAL, or
NYSPHSAA a training plan for approval that describes the drills and
activities that will be used during practice. The information must
include a complete list of all equipment to be utilized for each drill
or activity. This section also requires that additions to an approved
training plan shall be submitted for review prior to implementation.

Additionally, this section requires that reports of any injuries occur-
ring during football practices should be reported by the coach to the
school's athletic director. Information about the injury shall be
compiled that details the: type of injury; the activity the injured
player was participating in when it occurred; where such activity was
listed in their approved training plan; and, whether outside medical
assistance was necessary. The NYSPHSAA member schools shall report this
information to the section director and the PSAL member schools shall
report this information to the football sports coordinator. The injury
records that are compiled shall be reviewed and utilized when future
training plans are submitted for approval.

Section 4 provides an effective date thirty days after enactment.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Youth sports participation has positive impacts by and large, on student
health, mental health, academic and social well-being.

Despite the benefits of sports participation, serious injury and even
fatality can occur. Contact football is one of the highest injury sports
students compete in.

There have been some statutory reforms in the last couple decades to
help reduce preventable injuries in youth sports, such as new brain
injury protocols and automated external defibrillator on-site require-
ments. However, more must be done to ensure that the team training plan
that youths on a football team engage in are safe activities for them
when considering their physical capabilities.  There needs to be a
review process of a football team's training plan devised and being
implemented by coaches that can ensure the training plan is develop-
mentally appropriate and does not carry too high of a serious injury
risk.

Tragically, there was an instance where a preventable death occurred in
New York to a high school football player as a result of a football
practice drill that never should have been allowed.

In 2017, sixteen-year old Joshua "Josh" Mileto of Sachem School District
on Long Island, was killed as a result of a conditioning drill he did as
part of his football team training. Josh, along with four other football
teammates were instructed to raise a 400 pound log over their heads and
onto their shoulders as part of a relay race. During this drill, the log
slipped and fell onto Josh's head.  He suffered a fatal injury and
subsequently died.

The particular log-carrying drill the football team coaches had
instructed Josh and his teammates to do is a drill that Navy SEALS
perform. However, even Navy SEALS will carry at most up to 200 pound
logs with a five-man team. The training drill that killed Josh was not
even recommended for Navy SEAL training at that weight. The fact that it
was allowable and implemented for these high school boys is a tragedy
that must not be allowed to happen again.

A process must be put in place to ensure the training plans being imple-
mented and the equipment being used is not going to be a risk to the
life of the students. This bill aims to do that by establishing a
vetting process to the types of team training plan activities-including
any drills, warmups, work outs, conditioning, or other sports-specific
activities so that preventable injuries and even deaths can be avoided.

"Josh's Law" will put a process in place for interscholastic football
youth sports to make sure an outrageously dangerous drill like this
would not be approved for team training, and will establish a way for
NYSPHSAA and PSAL to gather information on training activities to make
sure only drills and activities that do not cause undue preventable
injuries are approved.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S9463 - Referred to the Health Committee

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Thirty days after enactment.