Bill Sponsors
McNamara, Donovan, Ackerman, Casimiro, Bennett, Casey, Noret, Read, Paplauskas, and Fascia
Committee
House Education
Summary
Select
This legislation mandates that starting August 1, 2028, all students participating in interscholastic league football in Rhode Island must wear impact-reducing soft-shell helmet covers during both practices and games. These devices are intended to reduce collision impact and must be provided by the school districts, remaining school property. The Rhode Island Interscholastic League is tasked with creating standards for these devices. However, the bill includes a provision allowing parents, guardians, or students over the age of eighteen to opt out of this requirement.
Sponsor
Analysis
Pros for Progressives
- Mandates that school districts furnish the safety equipment, ensuring that students from low-income families have equal access to safety protections without financial barriers.
- Proactively addresses the serious public health issue of traumatic brain injuries and concussions in youth sports, prioritizing student well-being over tradition.
- Establishes a uniform safety standard across all public and participating schools, ensuring a baseline of protection for student-athletes regardless of their district's wealth.
Cons for Progressives
- The inclusion of an opt-out clause allows parents to override safety standards, potentially leaving children vulnerable to preventable brain injuries based on parental misinformation.
- Places a financial mandate on school districts without explicitly allocating state funding, which could strain budgets in lower-income communities already struggling with resources.
- Focuses on mitigating the damage of a violent sport rather than addressing the systemic danger of tackle football for developing brains or promoting safer non-contact alternatives.
Pros for Conservatives
- Includes a clear opt-out provision for parents, guardians, and adult students, strictly preserving parental rights and individual choice against government mandates.
- The implementation date is set for 2028, providing ample time for schools and the market to adjust without immediate disruption to athletic programs.
- Seeks to make a traditional sport safer through equipment innovation rather than banning the sport or imposing restrictions on the game itself.
Cons for Conservatives
- Imposes an unfunded mandate on local school districts, forcing taxpayers to cover the cost of specialized equipment for a specific extracurricular activity.
- Represents government overreach ("nanny state") by dictating specific equipment requirements beyond standard safety gear, interfering with local school governance.
- Empowers the Rhode Island Interscholastic League, a non-governmental entity, to promulgate rules and regulations, effectively delegating legislative authority to an unelected body.
Constitutional Concerns
None Likely
Impact Overview
Groups Affected
- Student football players
- Parents and guardians of student athletes
- Public school districts
- Rhode Island Interscholastic League
- School athletic directors
Towns Affected
All
Cost to Taxpayers
Amount unknown
Revenue Generated
None
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Bill Status
Current Status
Held
Comm Passed
Floor Passed
Law
History
• 01/15/2026 Introduced, referred to House Education
Bill Text
SECTION 1. Chapter 16-21 of the General Laws entitled "Health and Safety of Pupils" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
16-21-44. Use of impact-reducing soft-shell helmet covers in interscholastic league football.
(a)(1) Recent developments in sports technology have created soft shell helmet covers.
(2) These soft shell helmet covers have been shown to reduce the impact of collisions in contact sports by adding a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of a traditional hard-shelled football helmet.
(3) As used in this section, the term “device” shall refer to a soft-shell helmet cover that adds a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of a traditional football helmet which layers are designed to reduce the impact of collisions to the body and the helmet, and thereby reduce the incidence and minimize the effects of concussions and other trauma to the body.
(b)(1) Effective August 1, 2028, every student participating in the sport of football in the Rhode Island interscholastic league shall be required to wear an impact-reducing soft-shell helmet cover device at all times while participating in interscholastic league football games and practices during any time in which a traditional football helmet would be used. The devices shall be furnished by their respective school districts to all students participating in these sports; provided that, a parent, guardian, responsible adult, or a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, may elect to opt out the student from wearing these devices for practices or games, or both.
(2) These devices shall remain the property of the school district at all times.
(c) The Rhode Island interscholastic league shall promulgate rules, regulations and standards regarding the selection and use of these devices.
(d) The provisions of this section shall apply to all public school districts as well as any other school which participates in interscholastic league football.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2028.
16-21-44. Use of impact-reducing soft-shell helmet covers in interscholastic league football.
(a)(1) Recent developments in sports technology have created soft shell helmet covers.
(2) These soft shell helmet covers have been shown to reduce the impact of collisions in contact sports by adding a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of a traditional hard-shelled football helmet.
(3) As used in this section, the term “device” shall refer to a soft-shell helmet cover that adds a padded, soft-shell layer to the outside of a traditional football helmet which layers are designed to reduce the impact of collisions to the body and the helmet, and thereby reduce the incidence and minimize the effects of concussions and other trauma to the body.
(b)(1) Effective August 1, 2028, every student participating in the sport of football in the Rhode Island interscholastic league shall be required to wear an impact-reducing soft-shell helmet cover device at all times while participating in interscholastic league football games and practices during any time in which a traditional football helmet would be used. The devices shall be furnished by their respective school districts to all students participating in these sports; provided that, a parent, guardian, responsible adult, or a student who is eighteen (18) years of age or older, may elect to opt out the student from wearing these devices for practices or games, or both.
(2) These devices shall remain the property of the school district at all times.
(c) The Rhode Island interscholastic league shall promulgate rules, regulations and standards regarding the selection and use of these devices.
(d) The provisions of this section shall apply to all public school districts as well as any other school which participates in interscholastic league football.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2028.