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Committee adopts accountability amendments and expands scope for athletic-trainer loan-repayment program
Summary
House Bill 288, the companion to Senate Bill 184 addressing athletic-trainer shortages and a loan-repayment program, received committee amendments requiring program evaluation and preventing duplicate awards; the committee advanced the amended bill unanimously.
A Senate committee on Tuesday adopted amendments to House Bill 288, the companion to Senate Bill 184, aimed at addressing the shortage of athletic trainers in schools and strengthening accountability for a loan-repayment or scholarship program.
The sponsor said the amendments require the relevant commission to develop accountability and evaluation measures for students receiving the loans and clarified technical sections (deleting specified lines and adjusting subsequent sections). Members described the amendments as providing oversight through an evaluation commission and ensuring recipients do not “double dip” by receiving multiple similar awards. The sponsor said the program originally focused on smaller classifications of schools and that this bill would expand eligibility to any K–12 classification.
Committee members voiced support for strengthening the pipeline of athletic trainers, particularly in middle schools, and the panel adopted the amendments. The committee then gave the amended bill a favorable report; the transcript records a unanimous committee vote of 15-0. The amendments keep the loan amounts unchanged and add evaluation and eligibility clarifications. The bill will proceed to the next legislative step.
