Amended in Senate June 14, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 9, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1639

Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonilla, Brough, and Dodd)

begin delete

(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

end delete begin insert

(Coauthors: Senators Anderson and Bates)

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January 7, 2016

An act to add Article begin delete 14 end delete begin insert 13.5 end insert (commencing with Section begin delete 33480) end delete begin insert 33479) end insert to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1639, as amended, Maienschein. Pupil health: begin insert The Eric Paredes end insert 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 begin insert Eric Paredes end insert Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act and would require the State Department of Education to post on its Internet Web site guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiac arrest. The bill would require a pupil in any public school, including a charter school, or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities, and the pupil’s parent or guardian, to sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs each school year before the pupil participates in an athletic activity, as specified. The bill would require an athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer to remove from participation a pupil who passes out or faints while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity, and would require a coach of an athletic activity to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course every other school year. The bill would impose penalties, on and after July 1, 2019, for a violation of 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:

SECTION 1.  

Article begin delete 14 end delete begin insert 13.5 end insert (commencing with Section
begin delete 33480) end delete begin insert 33479) end insert is added to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of
Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article begin delete 14. end delete begin insert 13.5. end insert   begin insert The Eric Paredes end insert Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Prevention Act

 

begin delete 33480. end delete

begin insert 33479. end insert   

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the begin insert Eric
Paredes end insert Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.

begin delete 33481. end delete

begin insert 33479.1. end insert   

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Athletic activity” includes all of the following:

(1) Interscholastic athletics.

(2) An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic
athletics, that is sponsored by a school, including cheerleading and
club-sponsored sports activities.

(3) Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by a school.

(4) Practices, interscholastic practices, and scrimmages for all
of the activities listed under paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

(b) “School” means a public school, including a charter school,
or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities.

begin delete 33482. end delete

begin insert 33479.2. end insert   

(a) The department shall post on its Internet Web
site guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac
arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials
to inform and educate pupils and parents, and to train coaches
about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest,
including the risks associated with continuing to play or practice
after experiencing fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained
shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate, or
extreme fatigue.

(b) Materials posted by the department on its Internet Web site
may include, but are not necessarily limited to, those developed
or used for sudden cardiac arrest education and coaches training
by the National Federation of High School Associations, the Eric
Paredes Save A Life Foundation, or the California Interscholastic
Federation.

(c) School districts and schools are encouraged to post on their
Internet Web sites the information and material required to be
posted by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) to give pupils,
parents, and coaches ready access to the information.

begin delete 33483. end delete

begin insert 33479.3. end insert   

Each school year, before a pupil participates in an
athletic activity governed by the California Interscholastic
Federation, the school shall collect and retain a copy of the sudden
cardiac arrest information sheet required by the California
Interscholastic Federation for that pupil. Before a pupil participates
in an athletic activity not governed by the California Interscholastic
Federation, the pupil and the pupil’s parent or guardian shall sign
and return to the pupil’s school an acknowledgment of receipt and
review of the information sheet posted on the department’s Internet
Web site pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section begin delete 33482. end delete begin insert 33479.2. end insert

begin delete 33484. end delete

begin insert 33479.4. end insert   

A school may hold an informational meeting before
the start of each athletic season for all ages of competitors regarding
the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. In
addition to pupils, parents, coaches, and other school officials,
informational meetings may include physicians, pediatric
cardiologists, and athletic trainers.

begin delete 33485. end delete

begin insert 33479.5. end insert   

(a) A pupil who passes out or faints while
participating in or immediately following an athletic activity, or
who is known to have passed out or fainted while participating in
or immediately following an athletic activity, shall be removed
from participation at that time by the athletic director, coach, or
athletic trainer.

(b) A pupil who exhibits any of the other symptoms of sudden
cardiac arrest, as described in subdivision (a) of Section begin delete 33482, end delete
begin insert 33479.2, end insert during an athletic activity, may be removed from
participation by an athletic trainer, if the athletic trainer reasonably
believes that the symptoms are cardiac related. In the absence of
an athletic trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms
of sudden cardiac arrest shall notify the parent or guardian of the
pupil so that the parent or guardian can determine what treatment,
if any, the pupil should seek.

(c) A pupil who is removed from play under this section shall
not be permitted to return to participate in an athletic activity until
the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return to participate in writing
by a physician and surgeon, or a nurse practitioner or physician
assistant practicing in accordance with standardized procedures
or protocols developed by the supervising physician and surgeon
and the nurse practitioner or physician assistant, as applicable.

(d) This section does not apply to a pupil engaging in an athletic
activity during the regular schoolday or as part of a physical
education course required pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
51220 unless it constitutes a practice, interscholastic practice, or
scrimmage pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section

begin delete 33481. end delete begin insert 33479.1. end insert

begin delete 33486. end delete

begin insert 33479.6. end insert   

(a) A coach of an athletic activity shall complete the
sudden cardiac arrest training course specified in Section begin delete 33482 end delete
begin insert 33479.2 end insert and shall retake the training course every two years
thereafter.

(b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach
an athletic activity until the coach completes the training course
required under subdivision (a).

begin delete 33487. end delete

begin insert 33479.7. end insert   

On and after July 1, 2019, a coach who violates
Section begin delete 33486 end delete begin insert 33479.6 end insert shall be subject to suspension from
coaching any athletic activity until completion of the required
training.

begin delete 33488. end delete

begin insert 33479.8. end insert   

The sponsors of youth athletic activities are
encouraged to follow the guidelines specified in this article.

begin delete 33489. end delete

begin insert 33479.9. end insert   

This article is operative on July 1, 2017.