F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
HB 263 2023
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to cardiac and medical emergencies on
3 school grounds; providing a short title; creating s.
4 1003.457, F.S.; requiring each public and private
5 school to have an automated external defibrillator on
6 school grounds; providing requirements for such
7 defibrillators; requiring schools to have a sufficient
8 number of defibrillators by a date certain;
9 authorizing a school to establish a public or private
10 partnership and seek gifts, grants, and other
11 donations for specified purposes; requiring each
12 school to establish an emergency action plan for
13 specified purposes; providing requirements for such
14 plan; requiring each school to provide certain
15 information to students, parents, and school
16 employees; requiring such information to be provided
17 in an electronic format for certain students;
18 providing immunity from liability under the Good
19 Samaritan Act and the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act;
20 requiring school districts to make certain trainings
21 available annually to all school employees; providing
22 school and school district reporting requirements;
23 providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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26
27 Section 1. This act may be cited as the "HeartCharged
28 Act."
29 Section 2. Section 1003.457, Florida Statutes, is created
30 to read:
31 1003.457 Automated external defibrillators on school
32 grounds; emergency action plan; provision of information.—
33 (1) In addition to the requirements of s. 1006.165, each
34 public school, including each charter school, and private school
35 must have at least one operational automated external
36 defibrillator on school grounds. Each defibrillator must be
37 stored in a location that is easily accessible to anyone at any
38 time during the school day and any other time students are on
39 school grounds, including outside of the school year. Each
40 defibrillator must have appropriate accompanying signage,
41 including, but not limited to, signage at the defibrillator's
42 exact location and which directs responders to the building or
43 room where the defibrillator is routinely kept. Each
44 defibrillator and its accompanying pads, including pediatric
45 pads when necessitated, and rescue kit, must be maintained
46 according to the manufacturer's instructions and kept in usable
47 condition. By July 1, 2025, each school must have a sufficient
48 number of defibrillators to allow a person to retrieve a
49 defibrillator within 3 minutes after a cardiac or medical
50 emergency in which the use of a defibrillator is needed anywhere
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51 on school grounds during a school day. Each school is encouraged
52 to form public and private partnerships and seek grants, gifts,
53 and other donations to cover the costs associated with the
54 purchase, placement, and training in the use of the
55 defibrillator.
56 (2) Each school shall create an emergency action plan for
57 responding to cardiac and medical emergencies that necessitate
58 the use of a defibrillator or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The
59 plan must, at a minimum:
60 (a) Designate at least one person as a response leader who
61 shall:
62 1. Oversee the implementation of the plan.
63 2. Form a response team to respond to cardiac and medical
64 emergencies.
65 3. Ensure that the school has employees trained to respond
66 to cardiac or medical emergencies.
67 4. Be responsible for finalizing the school's initial
68 plan.
69 5. Be responsible for collecting and processing feedback
70 and updating the school's plan, as necessary. The school's plan
71 must be evaluated and, if necessary, updated after any cardiac
72 emergency drill or cardiac or medical emergency which required
73 the use of a defibrillator at the school.
74 6. Work toward having enough defibrillators to allow a
75 person to retrieve a defibrillator within 3 minutes after a
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76 cardiac or medical emergency in which a defibrillator is needed.
77 7. Form a response committee to assist in the duties of
78 the response leader and ensure compliance with the training
79 requirements of this section. The response committee must meet
80 at least once a year or more frequently when necessary to
81 discharge its duties. The response committee must be composed of
82 at least five persons who agree to work toward better outcomes
83 in cardiac events, including:
84 a. The response leader.
85 b. For a public school, a safe-school officer, who must
86 also be trained yearly in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the
87 use of a defibrillator and know the location of each
88 defibrillator on school grounds.
89 c. A student currently enrolled at the school.
90 d. A parent of a student currently enrolled at the school.
91 e. A classroom teacher at the school.
92 (b) Include a list of at least five school employees who
93 are certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and trained in
94 the use of a defibrillator.
95 (c) Include detailed procedures for responding to a
96 cardiac or medical emergency, including acknowledging that in
97 such an emergency it is crucial that emergency services be
98 called, quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation be administered,
99 and a defibrillator be retrieved as quickly as possible. A
100 person must be selected to be responsible for such actions and
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101 must be prepared to perform such responsibilities as needed to
102 ensure such tasks are completed. The plan must also communicate
103 that other persons should not be deterred from performing such
104 actions as quickly as possible if the selected person is not
105 immediately available. The detailed procedures must identify the
106 person who will:
107 1. Respond to the cardiac or medical emergency in which
108 cardiopulmonary resuscitation or a defibrillator is needed,
109 ensuring the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
110 2. Respond to the cardiac or medical emergency in which
111 cardiopulmonary resuscitation or a defibrillator is needed,
112 ensuring the retrieval and use of a defibrillator.
113 3. Communicate with emergency medical services.
114 4. Communicate with school personnel.
115 5. Assist emergency medical services in locating the
116 person experiencing the cardiac or medical emergency.
117 (d) Establish a schedule for at least one drill each
118 semester of the school year in which the appropriate staff
119 practices the implementation of the emergency plan. At least
120 once each school year, a drill required under this paragraph
121 must create a scenario of a student suffering from sudden
122 cardiac arrest and include the entire school, including both
123 students and school employees.
124 (3) Each school shall provide students, parents, and
125 school employees with information, either electronically or
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126 physically, on:
127 (a) Cardiac emergencies, including what a cardiac
128 emergency may look like and how to respond to such an emergency,
129 including when such emergency happens to a student, general
130 information about cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to
131 operate a defibrillator, and the warning signs of a cardiac
132 condition in young people. A school may provide official
133 training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of a
134 defibrillator and must provide materials from the HeartCharged
135 Corporation.
136 (b) The school's emergency action plan, including the
137 protocols for use of and the location of all defibrillators on
138 school grounds.
139 (c) For school staff:
140 1. The warning signs and symptoms of a cardiac condition
141 or emergency for students, including the protocols for students
142 to discontinue any physical activity if such symptoms of a
143 cardiac emergency occur and how such events will be communicated
144 to a student's parent.
145 2. The limitations and considerations a student with a
146 known cardiac condition may need.
147 (d) Training on how and when to use a defibrillator.
148
149 Students who are enrolled in virtual education must only b e
150 provided the educational information required by this
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151 subsection.
152 (4) The use of defibrillators or cardiopulmonary
153 resuscitation by school employees or students is covered under
154 ss. 768.13 and 768.1325.
155 (5) Each school district shall annually offer training in
156 cardiopulmonary resuscitation to any interested school employee.
157 (6) Each school shall annually, on a date established by
158 the Department of Education, submit to the district school board
159 a report demonstrating compliance with the requirements of this
160 section. Each district school board shall compile the reports
161 from schools within the district and annually, on a date
162 established by the department, submit a report to the department
163 to ensure compliance with this section.
164 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.
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