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Head injury at school or on the team: the protocol they must follow

Last reviewed: August 24, 2026 — VerifiedEducación

In short

Act 202-2012 provides that the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Secretary of Sports and Recreation and the Secretary of Health, develop and implement a written protocol to be followed in every school and/or sports facility where sports or activities with a high risk of falls as well as of concussions or brain injuries are practiced. Before the start of the school year and/or the start of athletic training, and on an annual basis, every minor under eighteen (18) shall be required, together with their parent, guardian or tutor, to read and sign an information sheet on the nature, risks, associated symptoms and proper management of a concussion or brain injury. When a minor under eighteen participating in an athletic and/or school activity suffers a concussion or brain injury, or when it is suspected they have suffered one, they shall be immediately removed from the activity and evaluated by duly trained and certified personnel. The minor may not return to the activity unless that personnel grants a release, and in cases where it is determined they must be referred for medical attention, written authorization from a medical doctor is required to return. The Director of the Physical Education Program of the Department of Education identifies the professionals who will provide the training required to certify school and/or sports personnel.

External link

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What is it?

It is the concussion protocol for minors in athletic and school activities. Its practical value lies in two phrases: suspicion alone is enough to pull the minor from the activity, and returning does not depend on the child saying they feel fine, but on a release from duly trained and certified personnel — and written medical authorization if there was a referral.

Who can do it?

Every minor under eighteen (18) participating in an athletic and/or school activity. The duty falls on every school and/or sports facility where sports or activities with a high risk of falls as well as of concussions or brain injuries are practiced.

Requirements

Documents you need

Cost

This procedure has no cost.

Step by step

  1. Step 1: Ask for the information sheet before the season starts

    The law requires it before the start of the school year and/or the start of athletic training, and annually. It is signed by the minor and the parent, guardian or tutor, after reading it. If nobody gave you anything to sign, that is the first breach and it is easy to document.

  2. Step 2: Suspicion is enough: they leave the activity

    The text requires no diagnosis. When the minor suffers a concussion or brain injury, “or when it is suspected they have suffered one,” they shall be immediately removed from the activity and evaluated by duly trained and certified personnel. “Immediately” and “suspicion” are the two words to cite when someone wants to wait and see.

  3. Step 3: Nobody returns without a release

    The minor who suffered the concussion or injury may not return to the activity unless the duly trained and certified personnel grant a release to return. The child saying they feel fine is not the law’s standard; the release is.

  4. Step 4: If there was a medical referral, the authorization is in writing

    In cases where it is determined the minor must be referred for medical attention, written authorization from a medical doctor is required to return to the activity. Not a call, not a coach’s message: written authorization from a medical doctor.

  5. Step 5: Ask who the certified personnel are

    The law names who is responsible for that: the Director of the Physical Education Program of the Department of Education shall identify the professionals who will provide the training required to certify school and/or sports personnel on the nature, associated risks and proper management of a concussion or brain injury. It is a legitimate question at a school meeting.

Where to do it

The protocol is developed and implemented by the Department of Education in coordination with Sports and Recreation and with Health, and personnel training is channeled by the Director of the Physical Education Program of the Department of Education. If the breach happens at a public school and is not resolved at the school, the complaint to the Department of Education is the route we cover in our school guides. If the setting is a sports program outside school, the bill of rights for young athletes is the other tool.

How long it takes

Check the current processing time with the official agency.

What to do if something goes wrong

What this law does not carry. It has no penalties article: it sets no fine or sanction for non-compliance, and we will not invent one. Nor does it define “duly trained and certified personnel” beyond referring to the training the Physical Education Program Director identifies, nor define which sports or activities count as “high risk of falls”: that is left to the protocol. And we did not read the written protocol the law orders developed, nor any Education, Sports and Recreation or Health regulation on it; so this guide describes no internal steps, forms, waiting periods or clinical return criteria. What you can demand is what the law itself says in its text: a signed annual information sheet, immediate removal on suspicion, evaluation by certified personnel, a release to return and written medical authorization when there was a referral.

Common mistakes

  • Waiting for a diagnosis before pulling the minor: suspicion is enough under the text.
  • Letting the child return because they “feel fine”: a release from certified personnel is required.
  • Accepting verbal authorization after a medical referral: the law requires written authorization from a medical doctor.
  • Signing the information sheet only once: the law requires it annually.
  • Believing it applies only to sports: the text says athletic and/or school activity.
  • Looking for a fine in this law: it has no penalties article.

Frequently asked questions

Must they remove my child even without a diagnosis?

Yes. The law covers both the minor who suffers the concussion or brain injury and one for whom “it is suspected they have suffered one”: in both cases they shall be immediately removed from the activity and evaluated by duly trained and certified personnel.

What is needed for them to return to play?

A release from the duly trained and certified personnel. And if it was determined the minor had to be referred for medical attention, additionally written authorization from a medical doctor.

How often must the information sheet be signed?

Before the start of the school year and/or the start of athletic training, and annually. The minor and their parent, guardian or tutor read and sign it.

Does it apply to private schools and sports facilities?

The text speaks of “every school and/or sports facility where sports or activities with a high risk of falls as well as of concussions or brain injuries are practiced,” without distinguishing by ownership. The concrete protocol is developed by Education with Sports and Recreation and with Health, and we did not read it.

Official sources

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

Last verified

August 24, 2026

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