BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1647
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Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1647 (Hayashi) - As Amended: May 10, 2010
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 9-2
Judiciary
8-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill establishes requirements for athletic trainers (ATs)
and requires school districts that offer any interscholastic
athletic programs to acquire an automatic external defibrillator
(AED) beginning July 1, 2014, as specified. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Prohibits any person from holding himself or herself to be an
AT unless he or she meets the following requirements: (a)
graduated from a college or university after completing an AT
education program accredited by the Commission on
Accreditation of Athletic Training Education or completed
requirements for certification by the Board of Certification,
Inc. prior to January 1, 2004; and (b) certification by the
Board of Certification, Inc.
2)Requires an AT to engage in athletic training activities only
pursuant to protocols developed by a licensed physician,
surgeon, or osteopathic physician, as specified.
3)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to adopt a
heat-acclimatization program established by the National
Athletic Trainers Association or other similarly recognized
organizations. This measure also requires SDE to make this
program available to school districts through its Internet
website or other means.
FISCAL EFFECT
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1)GF/98 costs of at least $2.3 million for school districts to
acquire AEDs by July 1, 2014, as specified. There were 967
school districts with 2,532 middle and high schools in
2008-09; virtually all offer interscholastic athletics
2)One-time GF/98 costs of approximately $640,000 for school
districts to ensure there is a written emergency action plan
in the event of any emergency that occurs in connection with a
school-sponsored athletic activity by July 1, 2011, as
specified.
3)Potential GF/98 costs of at least $140,000 to school districts
to provide training to schoolsite personnel on the use of
AEDs.
4)GF administrative costs, of at least $125,000, to SDE to adopt
compliance and monitoring procedures to ensure schools comply
with the requirements of this measure related to procedures
for pupil injuries that occur during school-sponsored athletic
activities, as specified.
SUMMARY CONTINUED
1)Requires a school district, if it offers any athletic program,
to comply with the following:
a) Removing a high school athlete from school-sponsored
athletic activity, if he or she is suspected of sustaining
a concussion or head injury. This measure further requires
the athlete from returning to the activity until he or she
is evaluated by a licensed physician, surgeon, osteopathic
physician and surgeon, or AT, as specified.
b) Ensure, commencing July 1, 2011, there is a written
emergency action plan available that describes the
procedures to be followed in the event of any emergency
that occurs in connection with a school-sponsored athletic
activity.
c) Acquire, commencing July 1, 2014, an AED to be used by
trained personnel to assist pupils, instructors,
spectators, and other individuals in attendance at
school-sponsored athletic activities. This bill also
specifies that only one AED be available at the schoolsite.
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5)Specifies, commencing July 1, 2014, that a school district
that acquires an AED is not liable for any civil damages
resulting from any acts or omissions in the rendering of
emergency care, as specified. This measure also removes
liability from an employee of a school district who in good
faith renders emergency care or treatment by the use of an
AED, as specified.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to a study entitled: Survey of the Injury
Rate for Children in Community Sports, published in
Pediatrics, the official journal of the American Academy of
Pediatrics (2002), contact with equipment was the most
frequent method of injury, except in football where contact
with another player was the most frequent method. While
baseball and soccer players reported less than three percent
of their injuries as serious, football players reported an
average of 14% of injuries as serious. The majority of
injuries to child athletes occur during games rather than
practice.
According to the author, "Athletic trainers, along with
parents, coaches and other health care providers help to
ensure the safety of student athletes. Recognizing the need
for additional safety standards in school sports is an
important first step in helping to prevent future
sports-related illness, injury and death. [This bill] will
protect high school athletes from sports related injuries by
requiring medical clearance before a student athlete can
return to play, making available an AED at sports practices
and contests after July 2014, as specified."
2)Existing law requires the school principal, when an AED is
placed in a public or private K-12 school, to ensure
administrators and staff annually receive a brochure
describing the proper use of the AED. The brochure is
required to be approved as to contents and style by the
American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. The
principal is also required to ensure similar information is
posted next to every AED.
Statute also requires the principal to annually notify school
employees as to the location of all AED units on the campus
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and designate the trained employees who are available to
respond to an emergency that may involve the use of an AED
during normal operating hours.
3)What is an AED ? An AED is a medical device which is used to
administer an electric shock through the chest wall to the
heart after someone suffers cardiac arrest. Built-in
computers assess the patient's heart rhythm, determine whether
the person is in cardiac arrest, and signal whether to
administer the shock. Audible cues guide the user through the
process. The cost of AEDs range between $1,200 and $2,500.
4)Related legislation . AB 1646 (Hayashi), pending in this
committee, amends the existing California High School Coaching
Education and Training program to require coaches be trained
in a basic understanding of the signs and symptoms of
specified injuries, including those related to the head and
neck.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081