ENFIELD — While it appears that a third of Connecticut school districts are in violation of state law by not reporting students' concussions, a discrepancy in Department of Public Health data shows that at least some districts have reported their numbers to the state, but were not counted.
While a Hearst Connecticut Media review shows that thousands of Connecticut students sustain concussions each school year, the data is skewed by either a lack of compliance with a state law requiring each district to report concussions to the state, or numbers being reported to the state but not counted.
DPH data shows that Enfield had not reported a single concussion in the previous four academic years, but Superintendent Christopher Drezek said his district is in compliance with the state law.
"We had a reporting discrepancy with the state that's been rectified," he said this week. "My understanding is that it was how we were reporting that wasn't registering, but it's been fixed. We were not flouting the law."
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When contacted by Hearst Connecticut Media last month, Drezek opined as to why his district did not have any concussions reported in DPH data, saying that staff turnover may have been to blame.
“What may have happened is we did have some turnover right as COVID hit, our nursing supervisor retired,” he said last month. “It could have just been a clerical error on our part, or something didn’t go through, but I didn’t want to give the impression that we just didn’t submit.”
South Windsor faced a similar discrepancy as state data showed that the district did not report any concussions last school year.
However, Superintendent Kate Carter said that there was a technical problem as the district did report its numbers to the state.
"We can confirm the data was collected and submitted, so we called the state to find out why our data did not populate in the report," Carter said, adding that it is not yet clear whether the discrepancy was due to the school district or the state. "Typically, the state would contact us if we did not submit a required report, which is why we think it may be a technical error on their end, but we cannot be sure until the state contacts us."
District spokeswoman Diane Becker said that for the 2022-23 school year, South Windsor had 45 concussions, with 12 among eighth-grade students.
While there is a uniform form each district must complete and provide to the state, there is no requirement under the law stating which member of a district's staff is responsible for collecting and reporting data.
State officials have not yet responded to Hearst Connecticut Media about why certain districts' data wasn't properly counted, as DPH spokesman Chris Boyle said they are working to determine whether it was a mistake through DPH or the state Department of Education.
Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, who serves as the chairman of the legislature's Education Committee, is alarmed that "only 67 percent responded," as the rest would be in violation of state law if they're not reporting concussions.
He said that DPH uses a private contractor to implement the annual concussion survey, and it is not clear how many districts are ignoring the law or are simply missing data because of a miscommunication, which is what happened in South Windsor last year and Enfield the previous four years.
Who is responsible for reporting?
In South Windsor, school nurses, certified athletic coaches, and certified athletic trainers all complete state-mandated concussion training to recognize any signs and symptoms of concussions, Becker said.
Symptoms include nausea, headache, and dizziness.
Any student or athlete exhibiting symptoms is then referred to their own doctor of a diagnosis, Becker said, adding that concussions in South Windsor are most commonly linked to football, ice hockey, soccer, and cheerleading.
In Enfield, all coaches are trained to identify concussion symptoms, and the state requires they complete an educational program on concussions every five years, Athletic Director Cory O'Connell said.
"If an athlete sustains some type of head trauma, the coaches will first self-diagnose the athlete," he said. "If there is anything but a 100 percent certainty that the athlete is showing no symptoms, the athlete is removed from that activity, whether it be practice or a game."
The student is then referred to the district's medical staff, O'Connell said, adding that the most common sports that lead to concussions in Enfield are football, soccer, ice hockey, and lacrosse.
Hartford schools reported a relatively low number of concussions last year, seeing only 36 out of more than 16,700 students.
District spokesman Jesse Sugarman noted that while the district has a large number of students enrolled, it has a relatively low number of student athletes and that many concussions result from sports.
In Hartford, a certified athletic trainer is the first line of defense in evaluating a student who may have sustained a concussion. The trainer then reports the student's condition to a coach, who then refers them to a school nurse.
The school nurse is responsible for collecting the data that is ultimately reported to the state, Sugarman said, adding that if a certified athletic trainer is not available for a sporting event, all coaches are certified in CPR and first aid and have yearly renewals.
Currey said that there may be more legislators can do to enforce a law that has been on the books since 2014.
"If we can find a more uniform way in which to enforce this and ensure compliance with our districts, then that is something the Education Committee would likely further discuss," he said. "This is just one focus that we have when it comes to ensuring that the students' well-being and safety is our number one priority."
Includes previous reporting by Taylor Johnston.