Sep 13, 2016New Policies in North Carolina
Schools in North Carolina are implementing a new concussion policy this year that focuses on academics as much as athletics. The new Return-to-Learn policy applies to all grades and all students.
According to an article from WNCT, this means that elementary school students are being included for the first time. This is an important shift as studies have indicated that concussions are happening more often with younger kids and may be more dangerous, due to many going untreated.
The policy gives guidelines on how to treat students with concussions while they are in school. The policy also includes training staff on recognizing concussions, a detailed reporting process, providing structure to use in working with physicians, and guidelines for communicating with families about head injuries that occur outside of school.
“We’ve already had some families report back that over the summer, their son or daughter did in fact suffer a concussion or severe head injury and as such, we’re working with those families to see how we can accommodate them,” Travis Lewis, Pitt County Schools Community and Student Services Director, told WNCT.
