BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Senator Carol Liu, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: AB 1639 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Maienschein | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |June 14, 2016 Hearing | | |Date: June 29, 2016 | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------- |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: | Yes | ---------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Lynn Lorber | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Pupil health: The Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act SUMMARY This bill, beginning July 1, 2017, establishes a return-to-play protocol for students who pass out or faint during an athletic activity, requires coaches to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course, and requires schools to retain a copy of a sudden cardiac arrest information sheet before a student participates in an athletic activity. BACKGROUND Existing law: 1) Requires a school district, charter school, or private school that elects to offer an athletic program to comply with all of the following: a) Immediately removed from the athletic activity for the remainder of the day an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury. b) Prohibits the athlete from returning to the athletic activity until he or she is evaluated and provided written clearance by a licensed health care provider. AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 2 of ? c) Requires the athlete, if the health care provider determines a concussion or head injury was sustained, to complete a graduated return-to-play protocol of at least seven days in duration. d) Requires a concussion and head injury information sheet to be signed and returned by the athlete and the parent annually before the athlete initiates practice or competition. (Education Code § 49475) 2) States legislative intent that high school athletic coaches complete training regarding the identification of and appropriate response to concussions, among other things. (EC § 35179.1) 3) Authorizes a public school to solicit and receive non-state funds to acquire and maintain an automated external defibrillator (AED), and requires these funds to be used only to acquire and maintain an AED and to provide training to school employees regarding use of an AED. (EC § 49417) 4) Requires the principal of a school, when an automated external defibrillator (AED) is placed in a public or private K-12 school, to ensure that the school administrators and staff annually receive information that describes sudden cardiac arrest, the school's emergency response plan, and the proper use of an AED. Existing law requires the principal to ensure that instructions, in no less than 14-point type, on how to use the AED are posted next to every AED. Existing law also requires the principal to, at least annually, notify school employees as to the location of all AED units on the campus. (Health & Safety Code § 1797.196) ANALYSIS This bill, beginning July 1, 2017, establishes the Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act that includes a return-to-play protocol for students who pass out or faint during an athletic activity, requires coaches to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course, and requires schools to retain a copy of a sudden cardiac arrest information sheet before a student participates in an athletic activity. Specifically, this bill: AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 3 of ? Return-to-play protocol 1) Requires that a student 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, be removed from participation at that time by the athletic director, coach or athletic trainer. 2) Authorizes an athletic trainer to remove from participation a student who exhibits unexplained shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate, or extreme fatigue during an athletic activity, if the athletic trainer reasonably believes that the symptoms are cardiac related. 3) Prohibits a student who is removed from play from being permitted to return to an athletic activity until the student is evaluated and cleared to return in writing by a physician and surgeon, or a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, as specified. 4) Requires, in the absence of an athletic trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest to notify the parent so that the parent can determine what treatment, if any, the student should seek. 5) Exempts from these protocols athletic activities during the regular schoolday or as part of a physical education course unless it constitutes a practice, interscholastic practice, or scrimmage. Training 6) Requires coaches, by July 1, 2019, prior to coaching an athletic activity, to complete the sudden cardiac arrest training course using the information posted on the California Department of Education's (CDE's) Web site. 7) Requires coaches to retake the training course every two years. 8) Prohibits a coach from being eligible to coach an athletic AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 4 of ? activity until the coach completes the training course. 9) Requires that a coach who does not receive the training, by July 1 2019, be subject to suspension from coaching any athletic activity until completion of the required training. Sudden cardiac arrest information sheet 10) Requires, annually before a student participates in an athletic activity governed by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the school to collect and retain a copy of the sudden cardiac arrest information sheet required by the CIF for that student. 11) Requires, before a student participates in an athletic activity not governed by the CIF, the student and the student's parent to sign and return to the school an acknowledgment of receipt and review of the information sheet posted on the California Department of Education's (CDE's) Web site. Posting of guidelines and information 12) Requires the CDE to post on its Web site guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials to inform and educate students and parents, and to train coaches about the nature and warning signs, 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. 13) Authorizes materials to include but not be 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. 14) Encourages schools and school districts to post the information and materials on their Web sites to give students, parents, and coaches ready access to the information. AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 5 of ? Miscellaneous 15) Provides that this bill is to become effective on July 1, 2017. 16) 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. This bill authorizes the meetings to include physicians, pediatric cardiologists, and athletic trainers, in addition to students, parents, coaches and other school officials. 17) Encourages the sponsors of youth athletic activities to follow the guidelines specified in this bill. 18) Defines "athletic activity" to include all of the following: a) Interscholastic athletics. b) An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic athletics, that is sponsored by a school including cheerleading and club-sponsored sports activities. c) Non-competitive cheerleading that is sponsored by a school. d) Practices, interscholastic practice, and scrimmages for all of the activities listed above. 19) Defines "school" as a public school, including a charter school, or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Need for the bill. According to the author, "Currently, there are no statutes or regulations in California regarding sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Only last year did the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) adopt policies regarding SCA. The issue is that involvement in AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 6 of ? the CIF is not mandatory and their policies therefore do not cover every student athlete in the state. SCA claims the lives of thousands of kids annually. Of the people that suffered from SCA, 72% were reported to have at least one of the symptoms that went largely unrecognized. In California, there is a lack of education about the symptoms of the leading cause of death on school campuses." 2) Existing California Interscholastic Federation bylaw. The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) governs competitive athletics in grades 9-12, and had adopted a bylaw that mirrors the return-to-play protocol and information sheet requirements contained in this bill. This bill essentially extends the CIF bylaw to athletic activities at schools that are not governed by CIF, as well as requiring all coaches to receive training and the posting of information on the Web site of the California Department of Education (CDE). 3) Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, this bill imposes General Fund administrative costs to CDE of approximately $85,000 to post guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest. The CDE will also develop an online training for coaches in consultation with health stakeholder, as specified in the bill. 4) Related legislation. AB 1719 (Rodriguez, 2016) requires school districts and charter schools serving students in grades 9-12 to offer instruction in compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation as part of a required course, commencing in the 2018-19 school year. AB 1719 is pending in the Senate Judiciary Committee. SUPPORT American Red Cross Association of California School Administrators California Interscholastic Federation California School Boards Association California School Nurses Organization California State PTA AB 1639 (Maienschein) Page 7 of ? Los Angeles Unified School District OPPOSITION None received. -- END --