None
EN
Public schools often lack sufficient support for students with concussions, report says
['Courtenay Harris Bond', 'Phillyvoice Staff']
PhillyVoice
Helping students ease back into the classroom after concussions requires coordinated care, but many public schools lack clear protocols or training for staff to help students manage their recoveries, a new report indicates.
Three-quarters of the principals said their schools did have concussion policies during the 2023-2024 school year, but only 29% of schools with policies required staff training.
Just under 60% of schools with policies included information about supporting students with concussions, the report said.
The Brain Injury Association of American – which collaborated on the study with Indiana University School of Medicine – has a series of evidence-based recommendations for concussion policies for schools.
But the researchers found that "schools in higher-poverty communities, schools with larger proportions of non-white students and smaller schools were less likely to report having concussion policies, which may point to resource and capacity differences," Dana Waltzman, the study's co-author, said in the release.