Date: September 28, 2028

Memorandum to: Chairs of District School Boards; Directors of Education

From: The Honourable Brian Saunderson, Minister of Sport; The Honourable Paul Calandra, Minister of Education

Subject: Concussion Safety and Rowan’s Law Day

As students return to the classroom and get back to the activities they enjoy, including school clubs, physical education and competitive sports, concussion safety remains a priority. Understanding how to prevent concussions and being able to identify the signs and symptoms early can help ensure students participate safely, stay active and enjoy a healthy school year.

Protecting the health and well-being of students is a top priority for our government. Through Rowan’s Law, Ontario continues to strengthen concussion awareness and promote injury prevention in schools and sports. The legislation honours the memory of Rowan Stringer, a 17-year-old athlete who tragically died in 2013 from second impact syndrome, a rare but serious condition that can occur when the brain swells following another injury before an earlier concussion has fully healed. Rowan’s story underscores the importance of taking concussion symptoms seriously and ensuring athletes receive appropriate care before returning to activity. Rowan’s Law and Rowan’s Law Day help carry forward Rowan’s legacy by promoting concussion safety and awareness among students, parents, educators and coaches.

This year, Rowan’s Law Day is September 30. Our government has tools to help you raise awareness about concussions. We invite you to help spread the message by visiting Ontario.ca/ConcussionResources and sharing these concussion safety resources with your school communities.

Posters

Invite school staff to print posters and hang them in the hallways, gymnasiums, cafeterias, clubs and classrooms, including a poster for elementary schools and one for secondary schools (attached).

Resources for Schools

Ophea has an online Rowan’s Law Day Toolkit for schools that has been updated and contains learning goals, activities, and curriculum connections to support recognition of the day and spread concussion awareness.

In addition, attached is a collection of resources intended to support concussion awareness, prevention, detection and management in the education sector.

Of note is:

• The updated Concussion Protocol
• The updated e-learning module on concussion safety for school staff
• The online learning modules for students and teacher guides (Grades 6 and 9) 

Concussion Management Tracking Tool

This year, we are also introducing the Concussion Management Tracking Tool. It is designed to ensure that schools and sport organizations — where an athlete practices, trains or competes — are aware of the athlete’s current concussion management status.

An athlete, parent or guardian can voluntarily share the information in this tool with the athlete’s school and sport organizations as they progress through the return-to-learn and return-to-sport steps. As a best practice, athletes, parents and guardians should share the athlete’s concussion status with their school and sport organizations.

The tool can be used in addition to a Return to School and Return to Sport protocol to help share information across multiple schools or sport organizations.

Email signature footer

Use the following email signature as a part of your everyday communications. Share it with your contacts, especially if they are students, families and educators who are passionate about sports:

Hit. Stop. Sit.

Know the signs of a concussion. Ontario.ca/concussions

Social media

Feel free to amplify our social media content on and around Rowan’s Law Day:

X: @ontariosport

Facebook: @ontarioministryofsport

Instagram: @ontario.sport

LinkedIn: Ontario Sport | Sport Ontario

Please remember to use the #RowansLawDay hashtag on your social media.

On September 30, on Rowan’s Law Day, our government will be releasing the Final Minister’s Progress report, highlighting the progress we continue to make in concussion safety. Ontario has also issued a Call to Action to all provinces and territories across Canada to adopt legislation modeled on Rowan’s Law.

Your commitment is essential to making concussion safety a priority across all sport environments, helping protect athletes while supporting their families, coaches and educators.

Best regards,

The Honourable Brian Saunderson

Minister of Sport

and

The Honourable Paul Calandra

Minister of Education