# Plain Language Summary: Jordan McNair Student Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act

This bill requires colleges and universities with athletic programs to create detailed emergency plans specifically designed to prevent and treat heat-related illnesses among student athletes. The law is named after Jordan McNair, a University of Maryland football player who died in 2018 from exertional heatstroke after collapsing during practice. Investigations found that the university's medical staff failed to quickly recognize his symptoms and get him proper treatment—he didn't receive adequate care until over 90 minutes after he first showed signs of heat illness, by which time his body temperature had reached a dangerous 106 degrees Fahrenheit.

Under this bill, any college that participates in federal student aid programs and belongs to an athletic conference must develop and implement a venue-specific heat illness emergency action plan within one year. These plans need to include procedures for recognizing heat illness symptoms, coordinating emergency care, and using cold water immersion equipment and defibrillators. The plans must be posted visibly in locker rooms, training facilities, weight rooms, and stadiums, and made available on the school's website. Schools also have to share these plans with local emergency responders so everyone knows exactly what to do if a student athlete shows signs of heat illness.

Before each athletic season starts, colleges must make sure that student athletes, coaches, athletic trainers, team physicians, and other relevant staff members actually learn and practice the emergency plan together. Schools must also submit annual reports to the federal government showing they're following these requirements. The bill recommends that colleges use the Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature index to measure heat stress conditions, keep defibrillators within three minutes of every sports venue, and map out where all emergency equipment is located. Essentially, this law aims to prevent tragedies like Jordan McNair's death by ensuring colleges have clear, practiced procedures and proper equipment in place to quickly identify and treat heat-related emergencies.

Jordan McNair Student Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act

Mfume, Kweisi

Jordan McNair Student Athlete Heat Fatality Prevention Act This bill requires each institution of higher education (IHE) that participates in federal student aid programs and is a member of an athletic association or athletic conference to develop and implement a venue-specific heat illness emergency action plan for operating and using automatic external defibrillators and cold-water immersion equipment. Specifically, each plan must include a symptom identification structure and a coordination of care plan for student athletes exhibiting signs of heat illness that is posted in each locker room, athletic training facility, weight room, and outdoor sports complex and stadium. Additionally, each plan must <ul> <li>be made available on the athletic program website or public website of the IHE at the beginning of each academic year;</li> <li>be distributed to local emergency responders; and</li> <li>be distributed to, and rehearsed in person, by specific individuals (e.g., student athletes, coaches, and athletic trainers) before the start of in-person training for each academic year.</li> </ul> The bill also requires an IHE to submit an annual report that demonstrates compliance with this bill's requirements.