Thursday, February 7, 2013
Tell us what you think.
It’s budget season in Montgomery County, and at least one local parent wants to know what county leadership is doing to protect students—protection that can’t come from armed guards and locked doors. Football season is recently concluded, hockey season is underway and sporting concussions continue to pose health risks to high school, college and pro athletes across the country. While state and county lawmakers have made strides in requiring concussion-training for high school coaches, local advocate and Patch blogger Tom Hearn says it’s not enough. Hearn, whose own son sustained a concussion playing JV football at Whitman High School in 2011, urges the county school board to include $500,000 in funding for high school athletic trainers in…
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Testimony will be considered as part of a report to Maryland's State Board of Education.
Update, Nov. 1, 2012: The Maryland State Department of Education’s Traumatic Brain Injury/Sports Related Concussion Task Force's public hearing on traumatic brain injuries and concussions among interscholastic athletes in Maryland public schools has been rescheduled, the State Department of Education announced Wednesday. The hearing will be held from 10 a.m. to noon on Nov. 5 in the state school board meeting room at 200 W. Baltimore St., in Baltimore. The rescheduling of the hearing, which was originally set for Monday, Oct. 29, is due to Hurricane Sandy. Original post, Oct. 17, 2012: As football season brings the dangers of head injuries into sharper focus, the Maryland State Department of Education announced plans Tuesday to hold a …
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Schools Superintendent Joshua Starr announced Tuesday that Montgomery County Public Schools is considering a district-wide baseline testing program for student athletes.
With concussions on the rise among high school and collegiate athletes, Montgomery County Public Schools is investigating a program to try to do something about it. MCPS Superintendent Joshua Starr announced Tuesday that MCPS is considering a district-wide baseline testing program to assist in identifying student athletes who suffer concussions and to help in determining when they can safely return to the playing field, according to a news release. Starr told the Montgomery County Board of Education that MCPS will request proposals from outside providers that can administer and maintain the baseline testing program, according to the release. MCPS also will form a work group to determine what information should be included in the request. “…
Friday, August 3, 2012
Should the state pass stricter requirements when it comes to regulating and treating student athlete concussions?
Sports practices for public schools in Prince George's and Montgomery counties start up soon—but new state regulations may mean changes for athletes and coaches. The state school board passed new requirements last week that say athletic coaches in Maryland must be trained in identifying serious head injuries, The Baltimore Sun reports. Thomas Hearn, a Montgomery County parent, spoke to the state school board in May after his son sustained a concussion, and pushed for members to consider limiting the number of contact practices in a week, The Sun reported. Hearn also plans to continue pursuing even stricter requirements than those passed by the state from Montgomery County’s school board, according to The Sun. Earl Hawkins, the director …
Darla Tagrin
9:42 am on Sunday, February 10, 2013
I think that athletes are not the only students who deserve health care, but they seem to be the only ones who count. more ›