BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1639 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1639 (Maienschein) As Amended August 15, 2016 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(April 28, |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 18, | | | |2016) | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- 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; AB 1639 Page 2 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 AB 1639 Page 3 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. AB 1639 Page 4 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 AB 1639 Page 5 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 AB 1639 Page 6 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 AB 1639 Page 7