Indiana 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?

No. Indiana law says in terms that an athlete removed for a suspected concussion is done for the day. There is no version of this where they go back in after sitting out a few plays and saying they feel fine.

Whose note does the school have to accept?

Indiana 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?

Yes. Indiana sets an actual floor: at least 24 hours after being removed from play. Most states do not, which makes this one of the stricter laws in the country on timing.

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

No. Indiana 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?

No — and this is the gap most parents do not know about. Indiana's law stops at school sports. A club team, a travel team, a church league or a Saturday rec programme is outside it, so the coach who is legally required to bench your child at a school game has no such duty at a club game. Nothing stops a league from having a good policy of its own, and many do. But you have to ask for it rather than assume it, and the time to ask is at registration, not from the sideline. One narrow exception: Indiana's football coach-certification rule reaches beyond school teams, covering anyone coaching football to a player under 20 in grades 1-12, including non-school programs run on public fields. That is a training requirement for the coach, though, not a removal-from-play duty owed to your child.

Read the law itself, in full: Ind. Code §§ 20-34-7-1 to 20-34-7-7 (law.justia.com). 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 56 verified concussion providers in Indiana across 23 cities, and you can filter by the kind of clinician the answer above calls for.

Browse Indiana concussion specialists →

What makes Indiana's law different

Two features stand out. First, Indiana imposes a hard 24-hour minimum sit-out after removal, on top of written medical clearance — the athlete cannot return the same day even with a clean evaluation. Second, Indiana's mandate is built around coach certification rather than provider specificity: head and assistant coaches must complete a department-approved certified coaching education course with a comprehension test and a certificate kept on file, and the course must cover concussion awareness plus (since 2019) heat illness; for football the certification obligation extends to non-school youth leagues that use publicly owned fields or facilities. By contrast, the statute never enumerates which license types count as a 'licensed health care provider' for clearance, leaving that to be worked out in practice.

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

The core removal and return-to-play rules apply to student athletes in interscholastic sports, and to intramural sports where a head or assistant coach elects or is required to comply. The coach-education provisions reach further: football coaches must be certified before coaching anyone under 20 in grades 1-12 (excluding flag football), which pulls in non-school 'organizing entities' that run youth programs on state or local government facilities, fields or parks.

Education and acknowledgment

The Indiana Department of Education must disseminate guidelines, an information sheet and a form addressing the nature and risk of concussion and head injury, including the risk of continuing to play after one, and may enlist the IHSAA in distribution. Each year before beginning practice, the student athlete and the student athlete's parent must be given the information sheet and form and must sign and return the form to the coach, who maintains a file of completed forms.

Indiana Return-to-Play Law: Removal From Play

A student athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in a practice or game must be removed from play at the time of the injury. The statute does not designate which person is responsible for making the removal call.

Indiana Return-to-Play Law: Getting Cleared to Return

The athlete may not return until (1) evaluated by a licensed health care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and head injuries, (2) that provider gives written clearance, and (3) at least 24 hours have passed since the athlete was removed from play.

Who the law lets sign the clearance

• licensed health care provider trained in the evaluation and management of concussions and head injuries (the statute does not enumerate specific license types)

Return to learn

Not addressed in the statute.

How the law has changed

• 2014 — P.L. 34-2014 added the definition of 'organizing entity' (non-school recreational/intramural/extracurricular programs for participants under 20 that use publicly owned or operated facilities), added a certified coaching education requirement for youth and school football coaches, and amended the return-to-play clearance section.
• 2016 — P.L. 135-2016 extended the certified coaching education requirement to head and assistant coaches of all interscholastic sports (and electing intramural sports) after June 30, 2017, and amended the definitions, removal, clearance, and pre-participation form sections.
• 2018 — P.L. 19-2018 required the certified coaching education course to include content on prevention of and response to heat-related medical issues after December 31, 2018.

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:

A volunteer health care provider who gratuitously evaluates a student athlete and authorizes return to play is not liable in a civil action except for acts or omissions constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. A coach who complies with the chapter and provides coaching services in good faith is likewise not personally liable for damages resulting from a concussion or head injury, subject to the same gross negligence/willful or wanton exception.

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 Indiana?

Indiana 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 Indiana?

No. Indiana law says in terms that an athlete removed for a suspected concussion is done for the day. There is no version of this where they go back in after sitting out a few plays and saying they feel fine.

How long does a student have to sit out after a concussion in Indiana?

Yes. Indiana sets an actual floor: at least 24 hours after being removed from play. Most states do not, which makes this one of the stricter laws in the country on timing.

Does Indiana require schools to help with schoolwork after a concussion?

No. Indiana 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 Indiana's concussion law apply to club and rec league sports?

No — and this is the gap most parents do not know about. Indiana's law stops at school sports. A club team, a travel team, a church league or a Saturday rec programme is outside it, so the coach who is legally required to bench your child at a school game has no such duty at a club game. Nothing stops a league from having a good policy of its own, and many do. But you have to ask for it rather than assume it, and the time to ask is at registration, not from the sideline. One narrow exception: Indiana's football coach-certification rule reaches beyond school teams, covering anyone coaching football to a player under 20 in grades 1-12, including non-school programs run on public fields. That is a training requirement for the coach, though, not a removal-from-play duty owed to your child.

When did Indiana pass its youth concussion law?

2011. The statute is Ind. Code §§ 20-34-7-1 to 20-34-7-7. It has been amended in 2014, 2016, 2018.

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

• Justia — Indiana Code Title 20, Art. 34, Ch. 7 (chapter listing)
• Justia — IC 20-34-7-3 (pre-participation information sheet and form)
• Justia — IC 20-34-7-4 (removal from play)
• Justia — IC 20-34-7-5 (clearance, 24-hour rule, volunteer immunity)
• Justia — IC 20-34-7-6 (football coach certification)
• FindLaw — IC 20-34-7-7 (coaching education, all interscholastic sports)
• Justia — IC 20-34-7-1.5 ('organizing entity' definition)
• Indiana Department of Education — Concussion