District of Columbia Youth Sports Concussion Law

What this actually means for your family

The statutory detail is further down, and it is all sourced. But if you are here because your child got hit this week, these are the six things you came to find out.

My child took a hit to the head. Does the coach have to take them out?

Yes. If your child shows signs of a concussion, or is suspected of having one, they have to come out of that practice or game right away. This is the part of the law that is nearly identical everywhere, and it does not require anyone to be certain — a suspicion is enough, and the coach is not supposed to wait for a diagnosis before acting.

Can they go back in the same day?

In practice, no. District of Columbia law does not use the words 'same day,' but it bars a return until a provider has examined your child and put a clearance in writing. That is not something that realistically happens between the third and fourth quarter, so the effect is the same.

Whose note does the school have to accept?

District of Columbia does not limit this to physicians. Any licensed health care provider who has been trained in evaluating and managing concussions, and who is working within their own scope of practice, can sign. That usually includes athletic trainers, nurse practitioners and physician assistants alongside physicians. Because the law describes the training rather than naming professions, the practical test is whether the provider can say they are trained in concussion management — so ask when you book.

Is there a minimum number of days out?

Not in the law. This surprises people, but the statute sets no minimum number of days — it just requires a provider to sign off. How long your child sits out is a clinical decision, not a legal one, and a provider who returns a child quickly is not breaking any law. This is the single biggest gap between what these statutes require and what current concussion medicine actually recommends.

Does the school have to help with schoolwork while they recover?

No. District of Columbia law is silent about school. It governs athletics only. That is a real gap, because recovering from a concussion is usually harder in a classroom than on a field — screens, noise, testing and concentration are exactly what an injured brain struggles with. Ask the school anyway, and if symptoms persist, ask about a 504 plan, which does carry legal weight.

What if the team is not run by their school?

Yes. This is worth knowing, because it is not true everywhere: District of Columbia wrote its law to cover organised youth sport generally, not just the teams a school runs. A club, a travel team, a municipal rec league — the same removal rule and the same clearance requirement apply. If a club coach tells you the concussion law is a school thing, they are wrong, and you can say so.

Read the law itself, in full: D.C. Code §§ 7-2871.01 to 7-2871.05 (code.dccouncil.gov). This is the text a school, a coach or an athletic director is bound by, so it is the page to print or forward if anyone tells you the rule is something other than what you have read here. Where a state's law runs across several sections, the rest of them are in the sources at the foot of this page.

If this happened in the last few days

Rule out the emergencies first.

A concussion is not usually a medical emergency, but a small number of head injuries are. Go to an emergency department now for a headache that keeps getting worse, repeated vomiting, seizures, slurred speech, weakness or numbness, one pupil larger than the other, or a child who cannot be woken or is unusually confused or drowsy. None of this is what the concussion statute is about, and none of it should wait for a clearance appointment.

Get the evaluation booked, and book the right kind.

The clearance your school needs has to come from a provider the law recognizes, and that list is different in every state — it is the third question above. Confirming that before the appointment saves families a wasted visit and a second co-pay more often than you would think.

Write down what happened while it is fresh.

The date and time, what the hit looked like, who saw it, what symptoms appeared and when, and who was told. This helps the clinician far more than a general 'he got hit at practice,' and if there is ever a dispute with the school about what was reported, it is the only contemporaneous record anyone will have.

Finding a provider who can sign it

Knowing what the law requires is one half of it; finding someone who can actually do the evaluation is the other. Our directory lists 35 verified concussion providers in District of Columbia across 1 cities, and you can filter by the kind of clinician the answer above calls for.

Browse District of Columbia concussion specialists →

What makes District of Columbia's law different

Three features set DC apart: the covered 'athletic activity' expressly includes curricular physical education classes, not just organized sports; the signed acknowledgment must come from the athlete as well as the parent; and the statute names no provider types at all, requiring only a 'licensed or certified health-care provider' — and requiring that the clearance come from the same provider who did the evaluation. The Council also delegated significant scope-setting to the Mayor: § 7-2871.05 lets the Mayor extend the chapter by rule beyond interscholastic athletics, and § 7-2871.03 leaves it to rulemaking to decide who must complete the concussion training program whose content the statute specifies. There is no immunity clause.

The statute in detail

Everything above is the short version. This is what the law actually says, section by section, for anyone who needs the precise wording — a school administrator writing policy, a coach checking a duty, or a family that has hit a disagreement with a district.

Who the law covers

Any 'athlete' 18 years old or younger engaged in an 'athletic activity,' defined to include practices and competitions run by public, charter, parochial and private schools, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and nonprofit or for-profit organizations. Unusually, the definition also reaches participation in physical education classes that are part of a school curriculum.

Education and acknowledgment

The Department of Health must create educational materials on the nature and risk of concussions; the entity organizing the athletic activity must give them to the athlete and the parent/guardian before participation. Both the athlete and the parent or guardian must sign a statement acknowledging receipt and return it to the organizing entity before the athlete may participate (§ 7-2871.04).

District of Columbia Return-to-Play Law: Removal From Play

An athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion in an athletic activity must be immediately removed from physical participation (§ 7-2871.02(a)). The statute states the requirement passively and does not name who is authorized to order the removal.

District of Columbia Return-to-Play Law: Getting Cleared to Return

The athlete may not return to physical participation until evaluated by a licensed or certified health-care provider and until that same evaluating provider gives written clearance to return (§ 7-2871.02(b)).

Who the law lets sign the clearance

• licensed or certified health-care provider (the statute does not enumerate specific provider types)

Return to learn

Not addressed in the statute.

What happens if the rules are not followed

This is the part families ask about most and the part these statutes handle least. Almost every one of these laws sets out duties without setting out a penalty for ignoring them, and most go further and grant the school and its staff protection from being sued over concussion decisions. What that protection covers, and where it stops, is a state-specific question:

Not addressed in the statute.

Two things are worth being clear about. Immunity clauses of this kind generally stop short of conduct that is willful or reckless, so they are not unconditional. And a school district's or athletic association's own rules sit on top of the statute and can be enforced through the school or the association even where the law provides no remedy — that route is often faster than any legal one. If you believe the rules were not followed and your child was harmed as a result, that is a question for an attorney licensed in your state. It is not something this page can answer, and it is not something a directory should pretend to.

Common questions

Whose note does a school have to accept to clear a concussion in District of Columbia?

District of Columbia does not limit this to physicians. Any licensed health care provider who has been trained in evaluating and managing concussions, and who is working within their own scope of practice, can sign. That usually includes athletic trainers, nurse practitioners and physician assistants alongside physicians. Because the law describes the training rather than naming professions, the practical test is whether the provider can say they are trained in concussion management — so ask when you book.

Can a student go back in the same day after a head injury in District of Columbia?

In practice, no. District of Columbia law does not use the words 'same day,' but it bars a return until a provider has examined your child and put a clearance in writing. That is not something that realistically happens between the third and fourth quarter, so the effect is the same.

How long does a student have to sit out after a concussion in District of Columbia?

Not in the law. This surprises people, but the statute sets no minimum number of days — it just requires a provider to sign off. How long your child sits out is a clinical decision, not a legal one, and a provider who returns a child quickly is not breaking any law. This is the single biggest gap between what these statutes require and what current concussion medicine actually recommends.

Does District of Columbia require schools to help with schoolwork after a concussion?

No. District of Columbia law is silent about school. It governs athletics only. That is a real gap, because recovering from a concussion is usually harder in a classroom than on a field — screens, noise, testing and concentration are exactly what an injured brain struggles with. Ask the school anyway, and if symptoms persist, ask about a 504 plan, which does carry legal weight.

Does District of Columbia's concussion law apply to club and rec league sports?

Yes. This is worth knowing, because it is not true everywhere: District of Columbia wrote its law to cover organised youth sport generally, not just the teams a school runs. A club, a travel team, a municipal rec league — the same removal rule and the same clearance requirement apply. If a club coach tells you the concussion law is a school thing, they are wrong, and you can say so.

When did District of Columbia pass its youth concussion law?

2011. The statute is D.C. Code §§ 7-2871.01 to 7-2871.05 (D.C. Law 19-22, eff. Oct. 20, 2011; 58 DCR 6506).

How this summary was written

Each summary was built from the statutory text and, where the statute delegates, the state rule or athletic association policy it delegates to. Where a detail could not be traced to a primary source it was left out rather than guessed at, so a section reading “not addressed in the statute” means the law is silent — not that nothing applies.

Not legal advice. This is a plain-language summary of a statute, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the law or asking a lawyer about a specific situation. Statutes are amended; school district and athletic association rules sit on top of them and are often stricter. Every source used for this page is linked below so you can check it against the text.

Sources

• D.C. Law Library — Chapter 28B
• D.C. Code § 7-2871.01 (definitions)
• D.C. Code § 7-2871.02 (concussion protection)
• D.C. Code § 7-2871.03 (training program)
• D.C. Code § 7-2871.04 (materials, signed acknowledgment)
• D.C. Code § 7-2871.05 (rules)
• DCRegs — 22-B DCMR § 620 Concussion Protection (rulemaking record)
• DCIAA concussion safety page (act name)
• Network for Public Health Law state matrix (cross-check)