NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9463

Senate Bill S9463

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Enacts Josh's law, requires training plans be approved prior to implementation in modified and high school football

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 15, 2024	referred to health

2023-S9463 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd Art 25 Title 7 Title Head, add §2596, Pub Health L

2023-S9463 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts Josh's law; requires training plans be approved annually prior to implementation in modified and high school football by either the PSLA or NYSPHSAA, whichever is applicable; requires certain information regarding injuries be reported that occur during such practices.

2023-S9463 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9463             REVISED 05/16/2024

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 developmentally appro-
priate 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
in 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 subse-
quently 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:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Click here

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Thirty days after enactment.

2023-S9463 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9463
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MURRAY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 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
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 "Josh's law".
   § 2. The title heading of title 7 of article 25 of the  public  health
 law,  as added by chapter 243 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
 follows:
                  YOUTH, MODIFIED AND HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS
   § 3. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2596  to
 read as follows:
   §  2596.  MODIFIED  AND  HIGH  SCHOOL FOOTBALL; TRAINING PLANS. 1. ANY
 MEMBER SCHOOL OF EITHER THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS ATHLETIC LEAGUE (PSAL) OR THE
 NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION  (NYSPHSAA)  THAT
 HAS  A  MODIFIED  AND/OR  HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL PROGRAM SHALL PREPARE AND
 PROVIDE A TEAM TRAINING PLAN FOR EACH LEVEL FOR  REVIEW  NO  LATER  THAN
 JULY  FIFTEENTH  ANNUALLY IN ORDER FOR SUCH PLAN TO BE APPROVED PRIOR TO
 THE BEGINNING OF THE FALL SPORTS SEASON. SUCH PLAN SHALL BE PREPARED AND
 SUBMITTED BY THE COACH OR ATHLETIC DIRECTOR  TO  THE  SECTION  EXECUTIVE
 DIRECTOR  FOR APPROVAL IF SUCH PROGRAM BELONGS TO A MEMBER SCHOOL OF THE
 NYSPHSAA OR TO THE FOOTBALL SPORTS COORDINATOR IF SUCH  PROGRAM  BELONGS
 TO A MEMBER SCHOOL OF THE PSAL. A TRAINING PLAN MAY BE APPROVED IN WHOLE
 OR  IN PART AND A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION MAY BE REQUESTED IF
 NECESSARY. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, "TRAINING PLAN"  SHALL  MEAN  A
 COMPREHENSIVE  LIST  AND  DESCRIPTION  OF  ALL DRILLS AND ACTIVITIES THE
 PROGRAM PLANS TO USE THROUGHOUT THE SEASON DURING  PRACTICE,  INCLUDING,
 BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARMUPS, WORK OUTS, CONDITIONING, AND SPORT-SPECIFIC
 ACTIVITIES,  ETC.    SUCH TRAINING PLAN SHALL INCLUDE A COMPLETE LIST OF
 ALL EQUIPMENT UTILIZED FOR EACH DRILL OR ACTIVITY. ANY NEW  ADDITION  TO
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15621-01-4

 S. 9463                             2
 
 AN  APPROVED TRAINING PLAN SHALL BE SUBMITTED FOR REVIEW PRIOR TO IMPLE-
 MENTATION.
   2.  ANY  INJURY  THAT OCCURS DURING PRACTICE SHOULD BE RECORDED BY THE
 COACH AND REPORTED TO THE SCHOOL'S ATHLETIC DIRECTOR. SUCH REPORT  SHALL
 INCLUDE:  (A) THE INDIVIDUAL'S TEAM LEVEL; (B) THE INJURY THAT OCCURRED;
 (C) THE ACTIVITY THE INDIVIDUAL WAS PARTICIPATING  IN  WHEN  THE  INJURY
 OCCURRED;  (D) WHERE SUCH ACTIVITY WAS LISTED IN THEIR APPROVED TRAINING
 PLAN; AND (E) WHETHER OR NOT OUTSIDE MEDICAL ASSISTANCE  WAS  NECESSARY.
 NYSPHSAA  MEMBER  SCHOOLS  SHALL  REPORT SUCH INFORMATION TO THE SECTION
 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR WHO SHALL COMPILE A COMPLETE LIST AND  SHALL  PROVIDE
 SUCH  LIST TO THE NYSPHSAA. PSAL MEMBER SCHOOLS SHALL REPORT SUCH INFOR-
 MATION TO THE FOOTBALL SPORTS COORDINATOR WHO SHALL COMPILE  A  COMPLETE
 LIST  FOR  THE LEAGUE. SUCH RECORDS SHOULD BE REVIEWED AND UTILIZED WHEN
 FUTURE TRAINING PLANS ARE SUBMITTED FOR APPROVAL.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
 repeal  of  any  rule  or regulation necessary for the implementation of
 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made  and  completed
 on or before such effective date.

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