BILL NUMBER: S5539AREVISED 5/29/25
SPONSOR: BASKIN
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring schools
safety plans to include a cardiac emergency response plan
 
PURPOSE:
To ensure that school safety plans include guidelines to respond to
cardiac emergencies.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides the short title of the act: "Desha's Law."
Section 2 amends subdivision 1 of Section 917 of the Education Law to
require school districts, boards of cooperative educational services
(BOCES), county vocational education and extension boards, and charter
schools to provide and maintain on-site AED (automated external defi-
brillator) equipment in each instructional school facility. AEDs must be
clearly marked, accessible, and maintained in accordance with guidelines
set by the American Heart Association or other nationally recognized
emergency cardiovascular care standards.
Section 3 amends paragraphs h, 1, and m of subdivision 2 of Section
2801-a of the Education Law and adds a new paragraph n. These changes:
*Require that annual school safety training for staff includes compo-
nents on sudden cardiac arrest (in addition to violence prevention and
mental health);
*Reaffirm the designation of a chief emergency officer responsible for
emergency planning and coordination;
*Update emergency protocols; and
*Add new requirements for a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP).
Each school district's safety team must develop a written plan for
responding to sudden cardiac arrest or similar life-threatening emergen-
cies on school property or during school-sponsored events. This plan
must include venue-specific procedures, especially for athletic
programs, and incorporate evidence-based guidelines such as those recom-
mended by the American Heart Association. Schools are encouraged to
coordinate these plans with community EMS responder protocols. Volun-
tary training in CPR, AED use, and first aid may be offered to relevant
staff, including members of building-level emergency response teams.
Section 4 amends paragraph a of subdivision 3 of Section 2801-a to
include sudden cardiac arrest among the emergency situations covered by
school safety response policies, alongside evacuation, sheltering, and
lockdown.
Section 5 further amends paragraph a of subdivision 3 of Section 2801-a
to reflect recent statutory changes ensuring sudden cardiac arrest is
included alongside emergency conditions.
Section 6 provides that the act shall take effect on the 180th day after
it becomes law. The amendments made in Section 5 shall take effect on
the same date and in the same manner as Chapter 25 of the Laws of 2025.
Immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of any necessary regulations is
authorized in advance of the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Instances of sudden cardiac arrest sometimes occur on school property or
at school-operated events like sports practice. There is a lack of
specific, evidence-based guidance on what to do in these situations for
school staff.
This bill works in continues the work of The Louis Acompora AED's in
Schools Act which requires certain public-school facilities to retain on
premises at least one functional cardiac automated external defibrilla-
tor. This bill requires that districts create cardiac emergency response
plans and that schools incorporate response procedures in existing
school safety and preparedness plans. Further, this legislation requires
that these policies are established in coordination with the community's
EMS responder protocols.
When an individual's heart stops, time is of the essence. Studies have
shown that mortality rates increase for every second longer it takes to
administer an automated external defibrillator (AED) shock to the heart.
This means having a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) in place and
AED physically on-site would save precious time should a sudden cardiac
arrest occur, increasing the survivability rate of the individual. This
bill recommends that an AED should be placed on a victim within three
minutes of the onset of sudden cardiac arrest.
The plan shall integrate evidenced based core elements as recommended by
the American Heart Association or other nationally recognized organiza-
tion that provides the guidelines training for the use of an automated
external defibrillator (AED) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to para-
graph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education law made by
section two of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
same . manner as chapter 596 of the laws of 2024, takes effect. Effec-
tive immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or
regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective
date.

Statutes affected:
S5539: 2801-a education law, 2801-a(3) education law
S5539A: 917 education law, 917(1) education law, 2801-a education law, 2801-a(3) education law