AB 1639, as introduced, Maienschein. Pupil health: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.
Existing law requires a school district, charter school, or private school that elects to offer an athletic program to comply with certain requirements relating to pupil safety, including, among other things, removing an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury from an athletic activity.
This bill would create the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act and would require the State Department of Education to develop guidelines an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiac arrest, and to post the information on the department’s Internet Web site. The bill would require a pupil in any public school, including a charter school, or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities to sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs each school year before participating in an athletic activity. The bill would require an athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer to remove a pupil who passes out or faints while participating or immediately following an athletic activity, and would require a coach of an athletic activity to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course each school year. The bill would impose penalties, on and after July 1, 2019, for a violation of the provision requiring removal of a pupil from an athletic activity and the provision requiring a coach to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course, as specified. The bill would make the act’s provisions operative on July 1, 2017.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Article 14 (commencing with Section 33480) is
2added to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the 3Education Code, to read:
4
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
8Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions
10apply:
11(a) “Athletic activity” includes all of the following:
12(1) Interscholastic athletics.
13(2) An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic
14athletics, that is sponsored by or associated with a school, including
15cheerleading, club-sponsored sports activities, and sports activities
16sponsored by school-affiliated organizations.
17(3) Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by or
18associated with a school.
19(4) Practices, interscholastic
practices, and scrimmages for all
20of the activities listed under paragraphs (1) to (3) , inclusive.
21(b) “School” means a public school, including a charter school,
22or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities.
(a) The department shall develop and post on its
24Internet Web site guidelines and an information sheet on sudden
25cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant
26materials to inform and educate pupils, parents, and coaches about
27the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, including
28the risks associated with continuing to play or practice after
29experiencing fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained
P3 1shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate, and
2extreme fatigue.
3(b) In developing the guidelines and materials, the department
4may use, at no cost to the state, an educational video created by
5Simon’s Fund, or another provider approved by the department,
6for the purpose of educating coaches about
sudden cardiac arrest.
Each school year, before participation in an athletic
8activity, a pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian shall sign and
9return to the pupil's school an acknowledgment of receipt and
10review of the information sheet developed by the department
11pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 33482.
A school may hold an informational meeting before
13the start of each athletic season for all ages of competitors regarding
14the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. In
15addition to pupils, parents, coaches, and other school officials,
16informational meetings may include physicians, pediatric
17cardiologists, and athletic trainers.
(a) A pupil who passes out or faints while participating
19in or immediately following an athletic activity, or who is known
20to have passed out or fainted while participating in or immediately
21following an athletic activity, shall be removed from participation
22at that time by the athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer.
23(b) A pupil who exhibits any of the other symptoms of sudden
24cardiac arrest, as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 33482,
25during an athletic activity, may be removed from participation by
26an athletic trainer, if the athletic trainer reasonably believes that
27the symptoms are cardiac related. In the absence of an athletic
28trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms of sudden
29cardiac arrest shall notify the parent
or guardian of the pupil so
30that the parent or guardian can determine what treatment, if any,
31the pupil should seek.
32(c) A pupil who is removed from play under this section shall
33not be permitted to return to participate in an athletic activity until
34the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return to participate in writing
35by an appropriate medical professional.
(a) Every school year, a coach of an athletic activity
37shall complete the sudden cardiac arrest training course provided
38by Simon’s Fund or another provider approved by the department.
P4 1(b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach
2the athletic activity until the coach completes the training course
3required under subdivision (a).
(a) On and after July 1, 2019, a coach who violates
5subdivision (a) of Section 33485 or Section 33486 shall be subject
6to the following penalties:
7(1) For a first violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
8activity for the remainder of the season.
9(2) For a second violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
10activity for the remainder of the season and for the next season.
11(3) For a third violation, permanent suspension from coaching
12any athletic activity.
13(b) A coach shall not be exposed to civil liability for his or her
14action or inaction
under this article unless the coach is found to
15have acted in a grossly negligent or reckless manner.
The sponsors of youth athletic activities are encouraged
17to follow the guidelines specified in this article.
This article is operative on July 1, 2017.
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