If you recall Tom Hearn from Maryland had the opportunity to present information to the Maryland State Board of Education about concussions. What resulted was a discussion among the board, Hearn was able to get a transcript (link at end) of this discussion and we have highlighted some key points (they begin on page 5). The time marking represents where on the audio file you can find the information (working on a link for that)
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11:17
Kate Walsh (MdSBE Board Member): I think the Board’s interest here was to get at testimony before the Board in public comment. I think these are all great things that you have done, but there were three complaints that were raised that we thought were quite compelling, and we wanted to hear them addressed. And I don’t hear you really addressing any of them.
So, can we go through this? What we heard was that there were regulations similar to those adopted by the Massachusetts Department of [Public] Health, have we done that? Have we adopted regulations that are similar to those?
12:00
Ned Sparks (MdSDE Athletics, Executive Director/MPSSAA Executive Director): No. Again, those were regulations of the Department of Health in Massachusetts.
Kate Walsh (MdSBE Board Member): So is that something you saying that we would not adopt be under another?
Ned Sparks (MdSDE Athletics, Executive Director/MPSSAA Executive Director): I don’t know the regulations exactly how they are in Massachusetts but I would think that that would certainly be a combination of the Department of Health and the Education Department regarding that. [It sounds like, since the Mass DPH regulations were brought to the attention of the State Board in the parent’s May 22, 2012 testimony—five weeks earlier, Mr. Sparks had not yet reviewed the regulations.] Now, again, we had a representative on that group as you can see from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as a matter of fact two of them.
12:31
Renee Spence (Executive Director, MdSDE Office of Government Affairs): We work very closely with folks from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Also, in Maryland, the Governor has put together a traumatic brain injury commission. There are a lot of folks working on traumatic brain injuries.
12:47
Kate Walsh (MdSBE Board Member): I just think it would be helpful if we could see why this Massachusetts Department of Public Health were cited as superior to our
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