Hillsborough County Schools approve $1 million settlement in freshman's death

TAMPA, Fla. — Editor's Note: The video above is from July 2019.

Hillsborough County Schools voted Tuesday to approve a $1 million settlement to the family of Hezekiah Walters. 

Exact details of the settlement are expected later this week.

The incoming freshman died after he collapsed during conditioning drills for football at Middleton High School in June 2019. 

Then-Superintendent Jeff Eakins said an investigation by Hillsborough County Schools found many protocols weren't being followed prior to Walters' death. Eakins said the district found Walters' student-athlete clearance forms had not been completed when conditioning began. Part of the paperwork included watching required safety videos, including one on heatstroke. 

According to Eakins, coaches did not follow protocols because several other students hadn't finished their required paperwork either. At the end of July 2019, the district demoted and transferred Middleton High School's assistant principal and transferred the head coach, who they said would no longer be a coach either. 

Last year, Hezekiah Walters' family demanded the district make changes in the wake of his death. The family wanted to see an athletic trainer in all schools, and also wanted all coaches and staff to follow the appropriate protocols for student-athletes. Additionally, staff that is supposed to be in place during conditioning need to be present. 

In August 2019, the school board unanimously voted to add more year-round athletic trainers in the county's high schools. 

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