Montana 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. Montana 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?

Montana 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. Montana 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: Montana 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: Mont. Code Ann. § 20-7-1301 (mca.legmt.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 56 verified concussion providers in Montana across 14 cities, and you can filter by the kind of clinician the answer above calls for.

Browse Montana concussion specialists →

What makes Montana's law different

Three features set Montana apart: the acknowledgment form must be signed by the youth athlete as well as the parent and expires after one year; annual concussion training is mandatory for officials as well as coaches (many states cover only coaches); and the 2017 amendment pushed the law past school sports into private youth athletic organizations such as club soccer, hockey, and lacrosse, which is broader than the typical interscholastic-only model. The immunity clause is narrow and volunteer-specific rather than a blanket school immunity, and the act pairs it with an explicit 'no new cause of action' statement. Note that §§ 20-7-1305 to 20-7-1307, which sit in the same code part, are the unrelated 2021 Save Women's Sports Act and are not part of the concussion law.

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

Each school district, nonpublic school, and youth athletic organization in Montana that offers organized youth athletic activities — athletic games or competitions, practices, tryouts, training exercises, and sports camps. Recess and physical education classes are expressly excluded. A 'youth athlete' is any active participant in such an activity; no age ceiling is stated in the definition.

Education and acknowledgment

Covered entities must adopt policies and procedures informing coaches, officials, youth athletes, and parents/guardians about the nature and risk of brain injuries, recognizable signs and symptoms, the need to alert a licensed health care professional, and the need to follow medical protocols before returning to play. A form documenting that the materials were provided to and viewed by the athlete must be signed by BOTH the youth athlete and the parent or guardian and returned to a designated official before participation; the form is valid for no more than one year. Coaches and officials must complete a training program at least once each year.

Montana Return-to-Play Law: Removal From Play

An athletic trainer, coach, or official must remove a youth athlete from participation in any organized youth athletic activity at the time the athlete exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a concussion. The trigger is observed signs/symptoms, not a diagnosis.

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

The athlete may return only when he or she no longer exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a concussion AND has been evaluated by a licensed health care professional and received written clearance stating that the professional evaluated the athlete and believes the athlete can safely resume participation in organized youth athletic activities.

Who the law lets sign the clearance

• licensed health care professional — defined as a registered, licensed, certified, or otherwise statutorily recognized health care professional whose training includes the evaluation and management of concussions

Return to learn

Not addressed in the statute.

How the law has changed

• 2017 — H.B. 487 (Ch. 331, Laws of 2017) amended §§ 20-7-1301 through 20-7-1303 to extend the act beyond school-district-sponsored activities to nonpublic schools and 'youth athletic organizations' (a newly defined term), to expressly exclude recess and physical education classes, and to require every coach and official to complete a concussion training program at least once each year.

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:

Section 20-7-1301(2) states that §§ 20-7-1301 through 20-7-1304 do not create a new cause of action, and that a person acting in an individual capacity (not on behalf of the state or a political subdivision) who volunteers to assist with an organized youth athletic activity is not liable for civil damages arising from an act or omission relating to the act's requirements, except for willful or wanton misconduct.

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 Montana?

Montana 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 Montana?

In practice, no. Montana 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 Montana?

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 Montana require schools to help with schoolwork after a concussion?

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

Yes. This is worth knowing, because it is not true everywhere: Montana 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 Montana pass its youth concussion law?

2013. The statute is Mont. Code Ann. §§ 20-7-1301 to 20-7-1304 (Ch. 260, Laws of 2013; S.B. 112). It has been amended in 2017.

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

• Mont. Code Ann. § 20-7-1301 (Montana Code Annotated, official)
• Mont. Code Ann. § 20-7-1302 (definitions), Justia
• Mont. Code Ann. § 20-7-1303 (education requirements), Justia
• Mont. Code Ann. § 20-7-1304 (removal from participation), official MCA
• MCA Title 20, Ch. 7, Part 13 section index (official)
• 2015 version of § 20-7-1302 (pre-2017 definitions), Justia
• NBC Montana – Governor signs updated Dylan Steigers bill into law (H.B. 487, 2017)
• Brain Injury Alliance of Montana – Dylan Steigers Act background