SPONSOR: Gallick
COMMITTEE ACTION: Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Crime Prevention and Public Safety by a vote of 19 to 3. Voted "Do Pass" by the Standing Committee on Rules- Legislative Oversight by a vote of 8 to 0.
Beginning with the 2025-26 school year and all subsequent school years, this bill requires every public school to develop and implement a cardiac emergency response plan that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on a school campus. A public school with an athletic department or organized athletic program shall also develop and implement a plan specific to life- threatening emergencies that may occur at an extracurricular event or school-sponsored event on campus.
Members of each public school's administration shall coordinate with local emergency services providers to integrate the public school's cardiac emergency response plan into the local emergency services providers' protocols. A cardiac emergency response plan shall integrate evidence-based core elements, such as those recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines, Project ADAM, or another set of nationally recognized, evidence-based standard or core elements.
The bill specifies certain guidelines that a cardiac emergency response plan shall integrate, including the establishment of a cardiac emergency response team and the placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the school campus. Appropriate AED placement shall be dictated by the cardiac emergency response plan and in accordance with guidelines set by the American Heart Association, Project ADAM, or another set of nationally recognized, evidence-based standard or core elements.
Appropriate school personnel shall be trained in first aid, CPR, and AED use following evidence-based guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association, American Red Cross, Project ADAM, or another set of nationally recognized, evidence-based standard or core elements. The school personnel required to be trained shall be determined by the cardiac emergency response plan and shall include, but not be limited to, athletics coaches, school nurses, and athletic trainers.
PROPONENTS: Supporters say that, every year, approximately 350,000 people are saved by AED machines, which is actually a pretty low number. About 23,000 people experience this type of cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting, including athletic events. Cardiac emergency response plans double or triple survival rates. This bill would require every school district to have an emergency plan that includes having an AED machine in each building. The superintendent would be responsible for implementing this. The sponsor was not sure how many schools have this because they are not mandatory and they are not tracked. The schools would be responsible for the upkeep beyond the initial cost of about $1,000. One witness gave an example of how her use of an AED machine helped her save a second grader a few years ago. Another witness testified that she went into sudden cardiac arrest at an event where there was no AED machine and it took first responders a long time to get there and assess her situation. Another witness shared the story of the loss of her partner, who went into cardiac arrest while playing baseball in Forest Park and there was no access to an AED machine.
Testifying in person for the bill were Representative Gallick; Missouri Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics; Children's Mercy Hospital-Kansas City; Meagan Lozano; Kids Win Missouri; Winton Policy Group, St Louis Children's Hospital; Missouri Nurses Association ; Linda Neumann; American Heart Association ; Missouri NEA; Shari Taylor; Missouri State Medical Association; and Treena Sturgeon.
OPPONENTS: There was no opposition voiced to the committee.
Written testimony has been submitted for this bill. The full written testimony and witnesses testifying online can be found under Testimony on the bill page on the House website.
Statutes affected: