House Bill 928 / SL 2025-49
House Bill 928 amends North Carolina’s concussion return-to-play law for interscholastic athletic activities. Under existing law, a student athlete who shows signs or symptoms of a concussion must be removed from play and may not return the same day; the bill adds licensed physical therapists to the list of professionals who may evaluate the student and provide the written clearance required before the student can return on a later day.
The bill is narrowly focused on student-athlete head injuries and does not change the removal-from-play requirement itself. Instead, it expands the pool of authorized medical professionals who can clear a student after a suspected concussion, alongside other already-authorized providers under G.S. 115C-407.57(b)(2). The act became effective upon becoming law and is now Session Law 2025-49.
HB928 modifies North Carolina General Statute 115C-407.57(b)(2) by adding physical therapists licensed under Article 18E of Chapter 90 to the list of professionals who may evaluate a student athlete after a suspected concussion and issue written clearance for return to participation. This affects schools, athletic programs, student athletes, parents, and healthcare providers by broadening access to post-concussion evaluation and clearance services while preserving the existing safety rule that athletes must be removed from play immediately and cannot return the same day.
The available record suggests the bill was noncontroversial and received routine approval, as reflected by its enactment into law without any recorded committee debate or vote details in the provided materials. The absence of opposition in the transcript and voting history indicates general support for the measure’s public-safety purpose and its practical expansion of provider options for concussion clearance.
No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. If any concerns existed, they would likely have centered on whether physical therapists should be authorized to clear concussion-related return-to-play decisions, including questions about training, scope of practice, and athlete safety. However, the bill text and available legislative history do not show recorded disagreement or named opponents.