BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 939
AUTHOR: Melendez
AMENDED: June 18, 2013
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 26, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
NOTE : This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Judiciary. A "do pass" motion should include
referral to the Committee on Judiciary.
SUBJECT : Automatic external defibrillators.
SUMMARY
This bill encourages schools to acquire and maintain at least
one automatic external defibrillator (AED) and authorizes
schools to solicit and receive non-state funds for automatic
external defibrillators.
BACKGROUND
The Education Code is silent relative to the acquisition,
maintenance, or use of automatic external defibrillators.
Current law states that any person or entity that acquires a
defibrillator is not liable for any civil damages resulting
from any acts or omissions in the rendering of the emergency
care if that person or entity does all of the following:
1) Complies with all regulations governing the placement of
a defibrillator.
2) Ensures all of the following:
a) The defibrillator is maintained and
regularly tested, as specified.
b) The defibrillator is checked for
readiness, as specified.
c) Any person who uses the
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defibrillator activates the emergency medical
services system and reports any use of the
defibrillator to the licensed physician and local
Emergency Medical Services agency.
d) For every defibrillator acquired up
to five units, at least one person per
defibrillator must complete training, as specified.
e) A written plan is in place that
describes the procedures to follow in the event of
an emergency.
3) When a defibrillator is placed in a public or private
K-12 school, a school principal is required to :
a) Ensure administrators and staff
annually receive a brochure describing the proper
use of the defibrillator. 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
that similar information is posted next to every
defibrillator.
b) Annually notify school employees as
to the location of all defibrillators on the
campus.
c) Designate the trained employees who
shall be available to respond to an emergency that
may involve the use of a defibrillator during the
hours of classroom instruction and during any
school-sponsored activity occurring on school
grounds.
(Health and Safety Code � 1797.196)
Current law:
1) Authorizes school districts to provide specified medical
services in connection with athletic events that are
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under the jurisdiction of, or sponsored or controlled
by, school districts. These services include medical or
hospital insurance for pupils injured while
participating in athletic activities, and ambulance
service for pupils, instructors, spectators, and other
individuals in attendance at athletic activities.
(Education Code � 49470-49474.)
2) Provides that any person who, in good faith and not for
compensation, renders emergency care or treatment by the
use of a defibrillator at the scene of an emergency is
not liable for any civil damages resulting from any acts
or omissions in rendering the emergency care.
(Civil Code � 1714.21)
3) Provides that a person or entity that acquires a
defibrillator for emergency use is not liable for any
civil damages resulting from any acts or omissions in
the rendering of the emergency care by use of a
defibrillator, if that person or entity has complied
with the requirements listed in #1-3 above. (Civil Code
� 1714.21)
4) Provides that the above protections do not apply in the
case of personal injury or wrongful death that result
from the gross negligence or willful or wanton
misconduct of the person who renders emergency care or
treatment by the use of a defibrillator. (Civil Code �
1714.21)
ANALYSIS
This bill encourages schools to acquire and maintain at least
one automatic external defibrillator (AED) and authorizes
schools to solicit and receive non-state funds for automatic
external defibrillators. Specifically, this bill:
1) Authorizes and encourages a school that chooses to
acquire and maintain, or continue to use and maintain an
existing, AED to do both of the following:
a) Place an AED in a centralized
location on campus for the purpose of preventing
deaths resulting from sudden cardiac arrests among
pupils, faculty, and visitors.
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b) Have the AED available for use at
all school-sponsored athletic events. An AED
placed in a centralized location on campus serves
as the AED that is available for athletic events
that occur at the school campus.
2) Requires the school principal, when an AED is placed in
a public or private K-12 school, to do both of the
following:
a) Notify, at least annually, all
school employees of the location of all AED units
on the campus.
b) Designate only school employees who
volunteer to be designated as AED volunteers to
respond to an emergency that may involve the use of
an AED.
3) Strikes the existing requirement in the Health and
Safety Code that the school principal:
a) Ensure that the school
administrators and staff annually receive a
brochure, approved as to content and style by the
American Heart Association or the American Red
Cross that describes the proper use of an AED.
b) Ensure that similar information is
posted next to every AED.
c) At least annually, notify school
employees as to the location of all AED units on
the campus.
d) Designate the trained employees who
are to be available to respond to an emergency that
may involve the use of an AED during normal
operating hours (as defined).
4) Provides that this bill does not alter the existing
requirement in the Health and Safety Code that the
school principal take specific action when an AED is
placed in the school (despite #3 above).
5) Exempts a school district whose employee uses, attempts
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to use, or does not use an AED to render emergency care
or treatment from liability for civil damages resulting
from any act of omission in rendering the emergency care
or treatment, including the use or nonuse of an
automatic external defibrillator (AED).
6) Exempts a school employee who complies with existing
Civil Code, which provides that any person who, in good
faith and not for compensation, renders emergency care
or treatment by the use of a defibrillator at the scene
of an emergency is not liable for any civil damages
resulting from any acts or omissions in rendering the
emergency care.
7) Prohibits the exemptions described above from applying
in the case of personal injury or wrongful death that
results from gross negligence or willful or wanton
misconduct on the part of the person who uses, attempts
to use, or maliciously fails to use an AED to render
emergency care or treatment.
8) Authorizes public schools to solicit and receive
non-state funds to acquire and maintain an automatic
external defibrillator (AED).
9) Limits the use of non-state funds to the acquisition and
maintenance of an AED and provide training to school
employees regarding use of an AED.
10) Defines "school-sponsored athletic event" as a
school-sponsored extracurricular athletic activity,
which includes practice for and competition in an
interscholastic athletic sporting event held at any
location, including a non-public school facility.
11) States that it is the intent of the Legislature to
encourage all public schools to acquire and maintain at
least one AED.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "The
majority of California's children spend around 14,000
hours away from their parents and under the supervision
of the state while they receive an education at
California's K-12 public schools. While under this
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supervision, parents should be confident that their
children are protected. According to the American Heart
Association, sudden cardiac arrest kills over 300,000
people a year and is the leading cause of death in the
United States, though many of these 300,000 deaths could
have been saved with the use of an AED. While children
or adults are on a public school campus they should be
protected from this epidemic, but schools are reluctant
to acquire an AED due to existing law, which does not
clearly protect school districts from any civil damages
if an AED is used in good faith on campuses."
2) Permissive Education Code . This bill encourages and
authorizes schools to take actions that may already be
undertaken under existing law, and therefore this bill
appears unnecessary.
3) Information and training . Current law (Health and
Safety Code) requires a school principal to take
specific action when an automatic external defibrillator
(AED) is placed in the school, including ensuring staff
annually receive a brochure describing the proper use of
an AED, annually notifying staff of the location of the
AED, and designating the trained employees who are to be
available to respond to an emergency that may involve
the use of an AED. This bill strikes the existing
requirement that a principal take these actions and adds
weaker requirements to the Education Code, yet states
that the bill does not alter the existing requirements
for school principals when an automatic external
defibrillator (AED) is placed at a school. Staff
recommends an amendment to reinstate the existing
requirements in the Health and Safety Code that school
principals take specific action when an AED is placed in
a school, and remove the weaker requirements this bill
adds to the Education Code.
This bill has been double-referred to the Judiciary
Committee. Due to timing relative to policy committee
deadlines, these amendments should be adopted while this
bill is in the Judiciary Committee.
4) Athletics . The California Interscholastic Federation
does not have a bylaw regarding defibrillators, but does
recommend (in the Sports medicine Handbook) that a
defibrillator be included in the athletic training kit.
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5) Liability . Existing Civil Code provisions provide
immunity from civil damages for any person or entity
that acquires a defibrillator for emergency use, and any
person who, in good faith and not for compensation,
renders emergency care or treatment by the use of a
defibrillator at the scene of an emergency. These
protections do not apply in the case of personal injury
or wrongful death that result from the gross negligence
or willful or wanton misconduct of the person who
renders emergency care or treatment by the use of a
defibrillator.
6) Technical amendment . This bill authorizes and
encourages schools to place an AED in a centralized
location on campus for the purpose of preventing deaths
resulting from sudden cardiac arrests among pupils,
faculty, and visitors. Staff recommends an amendment to
also reference school employees. On page 2, line 15,
after "faculty" add "employees"
This bill has been double-referred to the Judiciary
Committee. Due to timing relative to policy committee
deadlines, these amendments should be adopted while this
bill is in the Judiciary Committee.
7) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill results in General Fund
(Proposition 98) cost pressure, likely at least
$500,000, to public schools to purchase an AED. These
costs are not state reimbursable mandated costs because
the provisions of this bill are not required by school
districts. This bill authorizes schools to seek
non-state funds to purchase defibrillators, but does not
require that only non-state funds be used for AEDs.
While this bill is flagged as non-fiscal, it has been
referred to the Senate Appropriations Committee for
consideration.
8) Prior legislation . SB 63 (Price, 2011) would have
required public high schools to meet specific
requirements if the school chose to have an AED,
including ensuring training of employees, maintenance of
the AED, and record keeping. SB 63 was held on the
Senate Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
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SUPPORT
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Medical Association
Civil Justice Association
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
Emergency Medical Directors Association of California
Emergency Medical Services Administrators Association
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Paramedics Plus
OPPOSITION
None on file.