§ 91.001.Definitions
Title 4. Liability in Tort · Chapter 91. Liability of Volunteer Health Care Practitioners · Last amended 2003 · Last verified August 29, 2026
Full Text of § 91.001
Plain-English Summary
Two definitions for a chapter aimed at one recurring situation.
"Health care practitioner" means a person licensed to practice medicine, as a physician assistant, as an advanced nurse practitioner, or as a chiropractor under the named Occupations Code provisions.
Four professions, and the list is closed. A registered nurse who is not an advanced practitioner is outside it, as is a physical therapist or an athletic trainer.
The four are the professions that perform school sports physicals in Texas, which is what the chapter is about.
"School" means any private or public school offering academic instruction in any grade level from kindergarten through grade 12.
Private and public alike, and the whole range of grades. Note the requirement of academic instruction, which excludes an organisation running sports without schooling.
The situation the chapter addresses is familiar: a doctor volunteers a Saturday to screen a hundred students so they can play, charges nothing, and takes on the malpractice exposure of a hundred examinations.
Without protection the rational choice is to decline, and the students do not play.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is a health care practitioner under this chapter?
A person licensed to practice medicine, or as a physician assistant, advanced nurse practitioner, or chiropractor.
Are other clinicians covered?
No. The list of four is closed — a registered nurse who is not an advanced practitioner, a physical therapist, or an athletic trainer is outside it.
What is a school here?
Any private or public school offering academic instruction in any grade from kindergarten through grade 12.
Amendment History
- Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 749, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.