BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1639
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Date of Hearing: April 20, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1639 (Maienschein) - As Amended April 7, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act,
effective July 1, 2017, to provide additional information,
training, and emergency intervention protocols at public and
private schools in order to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac
arrest (SCA) among students. Specifically, this bill:
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1)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to post
online, guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on SCA
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 SCA.
2)Specifies materials posted online by CDE may include those
developed or used for SCA education and coaches training by
the National Federation of High School Associations, the Eric
Paredes Save A Life Foundation, or the California
Interscholastic Federation. Encourages public and private
schools and school districts to post this information on their
individual websites.
3)Annually requires each school, before a student participates
in an athletic activity governed by the California
Interscholastic Federation (CIF), to collect and retain a copy
of the SCA information sheet required by the CIF for that
pupil. For students that participate in an athletic activity
not governed by the CIF, the student and the student's parent
or guardian is required to sign and return to the pupil's
school an acknowledgment of receipt and review of the
information sheet posted on the CDE's website.
4)Authorizes a school to 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.
5)Requires a student who passes out or faints while
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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, to be removed from participation at that time by the
athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer.
6)Authorizes an athletic trainer to remove a student from
athletic participation if the student exhibits any of the
other symptoms of SCA during an athletic activity, 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 SCA is required to
notify the parent or guardian so that they can determine what
treatment, if any, the student should seek.
7)Prohibits a student who is removed from an athletic activity,
as specified, from returning to participate in the activity
until the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return by a
physician and surgeon, or a nurse practitioner or physician
assistant.
8)Specifies the requirement of this bill do not apply to a pupil
engaging in an athletic activity during the regular schoolday
or as part of a physical education course unless it
constitutes a practice, interscholastic practice, or
scrimmage.
9)Requires an athletic coach to complete the SCA training
course, developed pursuant to this bill, and retake the
training course every two years thereafter. A coach is not
eligible to coach an athletic activity until they complete
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this training course. Starting July 1, 2019, a coach that
violates this requirement is subject to suspension from
coaching any athletic activity until training is completed.
10)Encourages sponsors of youth athletic activities to follow
the guidelines of this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT:
General Fund administrative costs to the California Department
of Education (CDE), of approximately $85,000 to post guidelines,
videos, and an information sheet on SCA symptoms. The CDE will
also develop an online training for coaches in consultation with
health stakeholder, as specified in the bill.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the American Heart Association, SCA
affects nearly 10,000 youth per year. SCA is not a heart
attack. It is an abnormality in the heart's electrical system
or structure that abruptly stops the heartbeat. The author's
office states that 72 percent of those who have suffered SCA
experienced prior symptoms but did not recognize them as
warning signs. SCA is 60% more likely to occur during physical
activity and athletes are at greater risk. The sponsor of this
bill, the Eric Paredes Save a Life Foundation, seeks to make
more people aware of these warning signs, in the hopes that it
will provide the opportunity to prevent fatal cardiac events.
2)Background. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
governs competitive athletics in grades 9-12. The CIF is
comprised of 10 Section across the State; each Section has a
governing body that, among other things, adopts rules and
regulations in addition to those promulgated by the State CIF.
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The safety protocols established by this bill are similar to
safety protocols for concussions in interscholastic sports.
Current law requires the removal of "an athlete who is
suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury in an
athletic activity from the athletic activity for the remainder
of the day." It also provides similar protocols for allowing
the student to return to athletic activity. Unlike this bill,
however, there is no penalty on coaches (or other school
personnel) for non-compliance.
This bill codifies similar CIF policies on SCA that went into
effect in 2015. These policies cover most students playing
interscholastic sports, including 1,600 schools with 1.8
million students. The CIF rules, however, do not apply to the
other (non-CIF) activities covered by this bill: athletic
contests or competitions, other than interscholastic
athletics, that is sponsored by a school, including
cheerleading and club-sponsored sports activities;
noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by a school.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
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