BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1639
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
1639 (Maienschein)
As Amended August 15, 2016
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(April 28, |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 18, |
| | |2016) | | |2016) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Establishes the Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Prevention Act; requires the California Department of Education
(CDE) to make available specified guidelines and materials on
sudden cardiac arrest (SCA); requires pupils and parents to sign
informational materials before athletic participation; requires
training of coaches; and sets requirements for action in the
event a pupil experiences specified symptoms. Specifically,
this bill:
1)Establishes the following definitions:
a) "Athletic activity" means the following:
i) Interscholastic athletics;
ii) An athletic contest or competition, other than
interscholastic athletics, sponsored by a school,
including cheerleading, club-sponsored sport activities;
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iii) Noncompetitive cheerleading sponsored by a school;
and,
iv) Practices, interscholastic practices and scrimmages
for activities listed under i) through iii) above.
b) "Authorized person" means an employee, volunteer, or
contractor authorized to provide health or medical services
to pupil athletes.
c) "School" means a public school, including a charter
school, or a private school that elects to conduct athletic
activities.
2)Requires the CDE to develop and post on its Internet Web site
guidelines and an information sheet on specified SCA symptoms,
risks and warning signs.
3)Requires the materials to be developed using relevant
materials and training videos used by the Eric Paredes Save a
Live Foundation, the California Interscholastic Federation
(CIF) and the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS).
4)Encourages school districts and schools to post these
materials on their Internet Web sites.
5)Requires a pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian to sign an
acknowledgment of receipt and review of the information sheet
developed by the CDE every year before participation in an
athletic activity.
6)Authorizes schools to hold informational meetings on SCA
before each athletic season.
7)Requires removal from activity any pupil who passes out or
faints while participating in or immediately after athletic
activity, or who is known to have done so, by an athletic
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trainer, coach, athletic director or authorized person.
8)Authorizes an athletic trainer or authorized person to remove
a pupil from participation if the pupil experiences specified
symptoms the trainer reasonably believes are cardiac related.
Requires, in the absence of a trainer or authorized person, a
coach observing symptoms of SCA in a pupil to notify a parent
or guardian, so that that parent or guardian can determine
what treatment, if any, the pupil should seek.
9)Prohibits a pupil who has been removed from activity for SCA
symptoms from returning to participation until evaluated and
cleared to participate in writing by an appropriate medical
professional.
10)Requires biennial SCA training for coaches; and, specifies a
coach is ineligible to coach an activity until the training is
complete.
11)Requires, beginning July 1, 2019, suspension of coaches for
not undergoing the yearly training.
12)Limits a coach's civil liability for his or her action or
inaction under the Act, other than acting in a grossly
negligent or reckless manner.
13)Encourages the sponsors of youth athletic activities to
follow the guidelines in the Act.
14)Makes the Act operative on July 1, 2017.
The Senate amendments define "authorized person" to mean an
employee, volunteer, or contractor authorized to provide health
or medical services to pupil athletes.
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EXISTING LAW:
1)Limits full-contact practices, as defined, for high school and
middle school football and urges CIF adoption of rules to
implement such guidelines. (Education Code (EC) Section
35179.5)
2)Requires an athlete suspected of sustaining a concussion or
head injury during athletic activity to be removed from that
activity and not be permitted to return until evaluated and
cleared by a licensed health care provider; urges the CIF to
develop rules and protocols to implement this; and requires
athletes and parents to receive, sign and return a head injury
information sheet annually before practice or competition.
Excludes the requirements from athletic activities during the
regular schoolday or as part of a physical education course.
(EC Section 49475)
3)Requires a high school sports coach to complete educational
programs developed by his or her school district and the CIF
that meet specified guidelines. (EC Section 49032)
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the CDE estimates one-time costs of $85,000 General
Fund to post required information on its website. Significant
local costs for schools that elect to conduct athletic
activities to comply with the bill's requirements. These
activities are unlikely to be deemed a state reimbursable
mandate since the bill's requirements are based upon a school's
decision to conduct athletic activities. See staff comments.
COMMENTS: This bill requires dispersion of informational
materials on SCA, and notification for student athletes and
their parents, in order to build awareness of the possible
precursors to SCA. This bill also requires training for coaches
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and establishes procedures to be followed in the event of SCA
symptoms...
Existing law involving athletic activities. California has
established laws regulating athletic activities and requirements
for coaches, including limiting the number football full-contact
practices and requiring coaches to attend a coaching education
program. This bill is similar to requirements on concussions
among students in interscholastic sports, which were established
following increasing awareness of the dangers of head injuries.
Current law requires a graduated return-to-play protocol for
those pupils who have had a concussion or head injury diagnosed
by a licensed health care provider. These rules are for schools
with an interscholastic sports program and do not specify
penalties for violations.
Purpose of the bill. The author's office states that "Sudden
Cardiac Arrest (SCA) has emerged as a leading cause of death
among people under age 25. According to the American Heart
Association, SCA affects nearly 10,000 youth per year." The
author's office also states that 72% of those who have suffered
SCA experienced prior symptoms but did not recognize them as
warning signs. 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.
Eric Paredes, for whom the sponsor organization was named, was a
young athlete who died from a sudden cardiac arrest while at
home. Eric's parents hope to use the story of their son's
death, and those of other young athletes, to bring attention to
heart screening and possible warning signs they say could save
the lives of other children. The Foundation has worked
extensively to produce and distribute information on SCA, and to
promote training videos for coaches.
Supporters consider this bill a first effort in preventing
future deaths through information and risk assessment. One
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supporter, Heartfelt Cardiac Projects, states, "This bill is an
inaugural step in educating youth, parents and coaches about the
potential warning signs and risk factors of sudden cardiac
arrest and about the cardiac chain of survival that could save a
life."
Similar requirements under CIF. The CIF, working with a panel
of medical professionals, established policies related to SCA
which went into effect in 2015. These policies cover most
students playing interscholastic sports, including 1,600 schools
with 1.8 million students. CIF added SCA information to their
existing training requirements for coaches. The CIF also added
protocols similar to those in this bill. They include removal
from athletic activity after a pupil passes out or faints during
or right after activity, with a medical clearance required to
return to activity. Similarly, pupils must be cleared if they
are held out for exhibiting signs or symptoms associated with
SCA. The policy requires a pupil and his or her parent or
guardian to receive and sign a Sudden Cardiac Information sheet
each year. The sponsors feel an information sheet serves the
purpose of educating pupils and parents regarding symptoms that
might otherwise be ignored.
Given that the CIF implemented coaching training rules and a
protocol for SCA in 2015, many of the informational and care
guidelines in this bill already apply to the great majority of
student athletes.
Analysis Prepared by:
Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0004194
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