Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Athlete Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate unanimously passes Cohen Craddock Student Athlete Safety Act, creates safety committee and grant program
Summary
The legislature approved a measure to form a student-athlete safety committee and a privately funded grant program to help schools obtain safer equipment; bill was named for a student who died after a sports-related head injury.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate on March 31 passed the Cohen Craddock Student Athlete Safety Act, creating a permanent student-athlete safety committee and a grant program intended to help schools and youth sports programs obtain improved safety equipment.
The bill, named for a Boone County student who died following a football-related head injury on Aug. 24, 2024, would establish a nine-member committee including athletic-safety experts, athletic trainers and education administrators. A sponsor described the measure as a response to the family’s call to reduce future tragedies.
“The bill creates a 9 member student athlete safety committee with a composition specified in statute, including a mix of athlete athletic safety experts, athletic trainers, and education administrators,” the sponsor said on the floor. He said the committee will make ongoing recommendations as equipment and standards evolve. The sponsor noted testimony to committees that no currently available helmet meets proposed safety standards expected in two years and that the grant program is central to help schools equip players.
The measure sets up a grant program to assist with the cost of helmet covers and other protective equipment for a range of sports, from football to soccer and volleyball. The sponsor told the chamber the grant program will be funded by private donations; any legislative funding would be discretionary and the bill places no mandatory cost on taxpayers.
The Senate voted 33–0 with one member absent to pass the bill. A floor roll call recorded 33 yays, 0 nays, 1 absent.
Why it matters: The legislation is intended to standardize and raise safety for student athletes across West Virginia and to provide resources for local programs that lack funds for modern safety gear. Supporters framed the bill as turning a family tragedy into a statewide safety effort.
What happens next: The clerk transmitted the Senate’s action to the House for consideration.
