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Read. Follow. Verify.Connecticut requires annual cardiac screening in high school athletic health assessments starting in 2027
Last action · April 8, 2026: File Number 494Sponsors: Saud Anwar and 5 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, public high school students in Connecticut must complete an annual athletics health assessment that includes screening for serious cardiac conditions before participating in interscholastic sports. Local and regional boards of education must provide these assessments without charge to students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
Families of high school student athletes must ensure students undergo specialized cardiac screening prior to sports participation, while local school districts face potential costs to provide free assessments for eligible low-income students.
- The Public Health Committee is a joint standing committee of the Connecticut General Assembly responsible for matters relating to public health, medical licensure, and health services. context
- State statutes in Connecticut require periodic health and immunization assessments for students enrolled in public schools across various grade levels. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public high school student athletes
Students in grades nine through twelve must complete an annual athletics health assessment featuring cardiac screening and family history reporting before participating in interscholastic sports.
Local and regional boards of education
School boards must enforce the screening requirement, supply free assessments to eligible low-income students, and maintain records in student cumulative health files.
Parents and guardians
Parents must answer family history screening questions regarding serious cardiac issues and ensure their children complete the required health assessments.
Key Facts
- Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, each local or regional board of education must require pupils in grades nine to twelve to have an athletics health assessment prior to participating in interscholastic athletics for each academic year.
- The athletics health assessment must include a physical examination screening for serious cardiac conditions that could lead to sudden cardiac death, performed in accordance with American Heart Association or American College of Cardiology guidelines.
- Assessment forms must include checkboxes for providers to indicate patient or family history of serious cardiac symptoms such as chest pain with exertion, unexplained syncope, or sudden cardiac death.
- Assessment forms must record whether the provider performed or referred the student for an electrocardiogram (EKG) test and whether any additional cardiac screening or treatment was recommended.
Show all 6 facts
- Boards of education must provide these health assessments without charge to all pupils whose parents or guardians meet eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price meals or free milk.
- Results of each assessment must be recorded on State Board of Education forms, included in the student's cumulative health record, and kept on file at the school.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do low-income families have to pay for the required sports health assessment?
What specific cardiac screening is required during the physical exam?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · on the Senate floor.
Procedural history
9 actions- Apr 8, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFile Number 494
- Apr 8, 2026SenateSenate Calendar Number 306
- Apr 8, 2026SenateFavorable Report, Tabled for the Calendar, Senate
- Apr 8, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReported Out of Legislative Commissioners' Office
- Mar 31, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyReferred to Office of Legislative Research and Office of Fiscal Analysis 04/07/26 5:00 PM
- Mar 24, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyFiled with Legislative Commissioners' Office
Show 3 earlier actions
- Mar 23, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyJoint Favorable Substitute
- Feb 13, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyPublic Hearing 02/18
- Feb 11, 2026Connecticut General AssemblyCommitteeReferred to Joint Committee on Public Health
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
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Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Mandated Cardiac Screening for Student Athletes
The bill expands routine student health assessments to establish a specific, recurring athletics health screening focused on detecting serious cardiac conditions before high school sports participation.
Connected Entities
Sources
cga.ct.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy10Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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