New Mexico Youth Sports Concussion Law
What New Mexico law requires when a young athlete takes a hit to the head — in plain English, with the statute underneath it.
Checked against the official New Mexico statutory text on 2 August 2026. Re-verified every year.
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. New Mexico 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?
New Mexico names specific professions in the law, so this one is worth checking before you book — if your provider is not one of them, the school does not have to take their note.
Physicians and osteopathic physicians and their physician assistants, certified nurse practitioners, psychologists, athletic trainers and physical therapists.
The exact wording, if you need to show it to a school
- physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act
- physician assistant licensed under the Medical Practice Act
- osteopathic physician
- osteopathic physician assistant
- certified nurse practitioner licensed under the Nursing Practice Act
- licensed psychologist (Professional Psychologist Act)
- licensed athletic trainer (Athletic Trainer Practice Act)
- licensed physical therapist (Physical Therapy Act)
That list comes straight from N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31 (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.
Is there a minimum number of days out?
Yes. New Mexico sets an actual floor: at least 10 days (240 hours) from the moment of the injury. 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. New Mexico 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: New Mexico 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: N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31 (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 39 verified concussion providers in New Mexico across 11 cities, and you can filter by the kind of clinician the answer above calls for.
What makes New Mexico's law different
New Mexico's defining feature is the flat 240-hour (10-day) statutory minimum sit-out measured from the hour of injury — a hard calendar bar that applies on top of symptom resolution and written medical release, and one of the longest mandatory waiting periods of any state concussion law. It is also unusual in requiring the student athletes themselves to be trained (2017), in reaching non-school youth leagues twice over (a certification requirement for anyone using school district property, plus a freestanding statute for youth teams generally), in listing licensed psychologists among the providers who may release an athlete, and in containing no immunity provision at all.
| Statute | N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31 (school athletic activities); N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31.1 (nonscholastic youth athletic activities) |
|---|---|
| Enacted | 2010 |
| Amended | 2016, 2017, 2021 |
| Who may clear a return to play | Specific professions named |
| Return-to-learn protocol required | No |
| Covers non-school club and rec leagues | Yes — directly |
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
Section 22-13-31 covers student athletes in school athletic activities at the middle, junior high, and senior high school levels sanctioned by the New Mexico Activities Association, and additionally requires the operator of any nonscholastic youth athletic activity held on school district property to certify it will follow the brain injury protocols. Section 22-13-31.1 independently covers 'youth athletic activities' — organized athletic competition for teams in which a majority of participants are under 19 — expressly excluding elementary, middle, high school, college and university activities.
Education and acknowledgment
School districts must ensure that each coach in school athletic activities and each student athlete receives brain injury training covering the nature and risk of the injury, symptom recognition, the need for evaluation by a licensed health care professional, and adherence to medical protocols. At the start of the academic year or before first participation, the district provides a brain injury training and information form, and must obtain signatures on it from both the student athlete and the parent or guardian.
New Mexico Return-to-Play Law: Removal From Play
A coach shall not allow a student athlete to participate in a school athletic activity on the same day the athlete exhibits signs, symptoms, or behaviors consistent with a brain injury following an observed or suspected injury, or has been diagnosed with a brain injury. The duty is placed explicitly on the coach.
New Mexico Return-to-Play Law: Getting Cleared to Return
Return is barred until at least 240 hours (10 days) have elapsed from the hour the brain injury was received, the athlete no longer exhibits any sign, symptom, or behavior consistent with a brain injury, and the athlete has a written medical release from a licensed health care professional. The same 240-hour rule applies to nonscholastic youth athletic activities under 22-13-31.1.
Who the law lets sign the clearance
- physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act
- physician assistant licensed under the Medical Practice Act
- osteopathic physician
- osteopathic physician assistant
- certified nurse practitioner licensed under the Nursing Practice Act
- licensed psychologist (Professional Psychologist Act)
- licensed athletic trainer (Athletic Trainer Practice Act)
- licensed physical therapist (Physical Therapy Act)
Return to learn
Not addressed in the statute.
How the law has changed
- 2016 — Laws 2016, ch. 53 lengthened the mandatory sit-out period, added the requirement that nonscholastic youth athletic activities held on school district property certify compliance with the brain injury protocols, and enacted the companion section 22-13-31.1 covering youth athletic activities generally.
- 2017 — Laws 2017, ch. 69 expanded the training mandate so that student athletes themselves — not only coaches — must receive brain injury training.
- 2021 — Laws 2021, ch. 54 updated the licensing-act references for osteopathic physicians and osteopathic physician assistants in the list of clearing providers.
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 — neither section contains an immunity or liability-limitation provision.
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 New Mexico?
New Mexico names specific professions in the law, so this one is worth checking before you book — if your provider is not one of them, the school does not have to take their note. physician licensed under the Medical Practice Act; physician assistant licensed under the Medical Practice Act; osteopathic physician; osteopathic physician assistant; certified nurse practitioner licensed under the Nursing Practice Act; licensed psychologist (Professional Psychologist Act); licensed athletic trainer (Athletic Trainer Practice Act); licensed physical therapist (Physical Therapy Act)
Can a student go back in the same day after a head injury in New Mexico?
No. New Mexico 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 New Mexico?
Yes. New Mexico sets an actual floor: at least 10 days (240 hours) from the moment of the injury. Most states do not, which makes this one of the stricter laws in the country on timing.
Does New Mexico require schools to help with schoolwork after a concussion?
No. New Mexico 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 New Mexico's concussion law apply to club and rec league sports?
Yes. This is worth knowing, because it is not true everywhere: New Mexico 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 New Mexico pass its youth concussion law?
2010. The statute is N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31 (school athletic activities); N.M. Stat. Ann. § 22-13-31.1 (nonscholastic youth athletic activities). It has been amended in 2016, 2017, 2021.
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
What the law does not tell you
A statute sets the minimum a school has to do. It does not describe what recovery actually looks like, how long symptoms usually last, or which clinician treats which symptom — and on those questions the clinical consensus has moved a long way ahead of most of this legislation.
- The six-step return-to-play protocol — the graduated progression most of these laws point at without describing.
- Concussion symptoms and red flags — what warrants an emergency room rather than a sideline decision.
- The six stages of recovery — what the progression looks like in practice, and why the two-week figure misleads families.
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Compare with other states
Laws that look identical on paper often differ on the one point that matters to you.