Sponsors (2)
The bill expands standardized, low-cost cardiac screening for high-school athletes to detect hidden heart conditions and improve safety, but it risks unnecessary testing, access delays for underserved areas, administrative burdens, and potential shifts in public costs and exemption disputes.
High-school student-athletes (grades 9–12) gain routine cardiac screening (ECG and echocardiogram) before first sports participation, which may detect undiagnosed heart conditions and reduce risk of sudden cardiac events.
Families face minimal out-of-pocket costs for required screenings (capped at $20) through partnerships between local education agencies and providers, lowering financial barriers to testing.
Schools and LEAs receive a standardized process for medically clearing student-athletes, promoting more consistent health oversight across districts.
Mandating both ECG and echocardiogram for all student-athletes may produce unnecessary testing for many low-risk students, increasing false positives, follow-up procedures, anxiety, and incidental healthcare costs.
Students in areas with limited nearby providers (especially rural communities) may face delays or barriers to sports participation while obtaining required tests, even with waiver processes.
If subsidies or provider arrangements are needed to meet the $20 cap, costs could shift to taxpayers or school budgets, increasing local or federal spending pressure.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires ECG and echocardiogram screening for 9th–12th grade students before first participation in high-school athletic contests and mandates LEAs to secure low-cost screening partnerships.
Official title: To direct local educational agencies that receive certain Federal funds to require students in grades 9 through 12 to receive an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram prior to participating in an athletic contest for the first time, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 9, 2026 by Josh S. Gottheimer · Last progress June 9, 2026
Requires public local education agencies that receive federal elementary/secondary funds to ensure all students in grades 9–12 get a medical screening (electrocardiogram and echocardiogram) before first participating in any high-school athletic contest beginning in the 2026–2027 school year. LEAs must partner with public or private entities to offer the screenings at a cost of $20 or less per student, allow religious or physician exemptions, and may get a temporary waiver for a sports season if they show they tried to form a partnership.