Provides relative to youth athletics. (8/1/26)

Senate Bill 260 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:2798 to expand the conditions under which volunteer athletic personnel receive liability protection in youth athletics. The bill modifies the existing liability limitation framework by allowing volunteers to satisfy the training requirement through either a league-or team-established safety orientation and training program or an alternative youth injury mitigation and information course. The legislation adds a formal definition of "injury mitigation course" as a course approved by the Louisiana Department of Health that covers five specific areas: emergency preparedness and planning for traumatic injuries in youth athletics, concussions and head trauma, heat and extreme weather-related injuries, musculoskeletal overuse and physical conditioning issues, and heart defects and abnormalities that may cause sudden cardiac death. This change takes effect on August 1, 2026.

The practical effect of this legislation is to provide volunteer athletic coaches, managers, athletic trainers, team volunteer health care providers, and sports team officials with an additional pathway to obtain liability protection. Previously, these volunteers could only access liability limitations by completing safety training through their affiliated league or team. Under the amended law, volunteers who complete a Department of Health approved injury mitigation course gain the same liability protections, even if their league or team does not offer its own safety program. This creates flexibility for volunteers in settings where organized leagues may not have established training protocols or for individuals seeking standardized training that meets state health department standards. The statute allows leagues to waive training requirements for individuals who can demonstrate prior proficiency through documented evidence of first aid certification or child cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.

This legislation operates within the existing tort liability framework established in Louisiana Civil Code and operated through the civil code provisions governing negligence and assumption of risk. The liability limitation statute itself serves as an affirmative defense to negligence claims, operating as a legislative policy decision to protect volunteers from civil liability when they have undergone appropriate safety training. The involvement of the Louisiana Department of Health in approving injury mitigation courses places the authority to define acceptable training standards with a state health agency rather than leaving such determinations to individual leagues. The statute preserves the existing framework while creating a standardized alternative training option, maintaining the balance between protecting volunteers and ensuring that participants in youth athletics receive instruction from reasonably trained supervisors.