TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — Leon County high school athletes will need one-time EKGs starting in the 2026-2027 school year to detect heart conditions early and improve student safety.
- First-year student athletes will have to take the EKGs before being allowed to compete.
- The Leon County School Board unanimously approved the change.
- Watch the video below to hear why academic and healthcare leaders say this change will keep students safe.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
I'm Justin White, your College Town neighborhood reporter.
New health requirements are coming for high school athletes in Leon County starting in the 2026–2027 school year, aimed at improving early detection of heart conditions in student athletes.
"So before they get on the field, and before they get engaged in athletic sports, we can be proactive to ensure that those students remain safe and then have that collective conversation, not only with the school system, but with the parents and the medical professionals that are doing these assessments for us," Benny Bolden Jr., the director of inter-divisional support services in secondary schools, said.
Starting in the 2026–2027 school year, high school athletes will need a one-time EKG before joining a school sports team.
The policy, unanimously approved by the Leon County School Board under FHSAA guidelines, includes religious, medical, and cost-based exemptions.
Students with serious heart conditions must be cleared by a medical review panel before playing.
And one school in our community has been doing this since Covid.
Florida High athletic director Anthony Robinson told me this also prepares athletes for the next level.
"And one reason, you know, with me having an opportunity to come back from college as a college coach, it was a requirement in college. And so there was something that we felt that it would be easier for our kids to start doing it now, so they'll be prepared when they go to college to understand the importance of having an EKG and why," said Robinson.
And Florida State University Schools nurse Allison Westphal, who has been doing EKGs for the past 5 years, explained the process.
"EKGs take about five minutes. They're painless, non-invasive. They put stickers on an athlete's chest, and those results are transmitted to a physician that reads that if there's an abnormality. Typically those results are going to go to a pediatric cardiologist, and they'll do further evaluation of their child. And most times, things are treatable," said Westphal.
Officials say the goal is to catch potential heart conditions early and keep student athletes safe before they step onto the field.
In College Town, I'm Justin White, ABC 27.
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