Amended in Assembly March 9, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1639

Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein

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(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonilla and Dodd)

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January 7, 2016

An act to add Article 14 (commencing with Section 33480) to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1639, as amended, Maienschein. Pupil health: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.

Existing law requires a school district, charter school, or private school that elects to offer an athletic program to comply with certain requirements relating to pupil safety, including, among other things, removing an athlete who is suspected of sustaining a concussion or head injury from an athletic activity.

This bill would create the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act and would require the State Department of Education to develop guidelines begin insert and end insert an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiac arrest, and to post the information on the department’s Internet Web site. The bill would require a pupil in any public school, including a charter school, or private school that elects to conduct athletic begin delete activities end delete begin insert activities, and the pupil’s parent or guardian, end insert to sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs each school year before begin delete participating end delete begin insert the pupil participates end insert in an athletic activity. The bill would require an athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer to remove begin insert from participation end insert a pupil who passes out or faints while participating begin insert in end insert or immediately following an athletic activity, and would require a coach of an athletic activity to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course begin delete each end delete begin insert every other end insert school year. The bill would impose penalties, on and after July 1, 2019, for a violation of the provision requiring removal of a pupil from an athletic activity and the provision requiring a coach to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course, as specified. The bill would make the act’s provisions operative on July 1, 2017.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Article 14 (commencing with Section 33480) is
added to Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article 14.  Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act

 

33480.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.

33481.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Athletic activity” includes all of the following:

(1) Interscholastic athletics.

(2) An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic
athletics, that is sponsored by or associated with a school, including
cheerleading, club-sponsored sports activities, and sports activities
sponsored by school-affiliated organizations.

(3) Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by or
associated with a school.

(4) Practices, interscholastic practices, and scrimmages for all
of the activities listed under paragraphs (1) to begin delete (3) , end delete begin insert (3), end insert inclusive.

(b) “School” means a public school, including a charter school,
or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities.

33482.  

(a) The department shall begin delete develop end delete begin insert develop, using
relevant materials and training videos used by the Eric Paredes
Save A Life Foundation, the California Interscholastic Federation,
and the National Federation of High School Associations, end insert and
begin insert shall end insert post on its Internet Web site guidelines and an information
sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and
other relevant materials to inform and educate pupils, parents, and
coaches about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac
arrest, including the risks associated with continuing to play or
practice after experiencing fainting or seizures during exercise,
unexplained shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing
heart rate, begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert extreme fatigue.

(b) In developing the guidelines and materials, the department
may begin delete use, at no cost to the state, end delete begin insert use end insert an educational video begin delete created
by Simon’s Fund, end delete begin insert hosted on the National Federation of High
School Associations Internet Web site, end insert or begin insert similar material of end insert
another provider approved by the department, begin delete for the purpose of
educating end delete begin insert as a training course to educate end insert coaches about sudden
cardiac arrest.

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(c) School districts and schools are encouraged to post on their
Internet Web sites the information and material required to be
posted by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) to give pupils,
parents, and coaches ready access to the information.

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33483.  

Each school year, before begin delete participation end delete begin insert a pupil
participates end insert in an athletic activity, begin delete a end delete begin insert the end insert pupil and the begin delete pupil's end delete begin insert pupil’s end insert
parent or guardian shall sign and return to the begin delete pupil's end delete begin insert pupil’s end insert school
an acknowledgment of receipt and review of the information sheet
developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section
33482.

33484.  

A school may hold an informational meeting before
the start of each athletic season for all ages of competitors regarding
the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. In
addition to pupils, parents, coaches, and other school officials,
informational meetings may include physicians, pediatric
cardiologists, and athletic trainers.

33485.  

(a) A pupil who passes out or faints while participating
in or immediately following an athletic activity, or who is known
to have passed out or fainted while participating in or immediately
following an athletic activity, shall be removed from participation
at that time by the athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer.

(b) A pupil who exhibits any of the other symptoms of sudden
cardiac arrest, as set forth in subdivision (a) of Section 33482,
during an athletic activity, may be removed from participation by
an athletic trainer, if the athletic trainer reasonably believes that
the symptoms are cardiac related. In the absence of an athletic
trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms of sudden
cardiac arrest shall notify the parent or guardian of the pupil so
that the parent or guardian can determine what treatment, if any,
the pupil should seek.

(c) A pupil who is removed from play under this section shall
not be permitted to return to participate in an athletic activity until
the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return to participate in writing
by an appropriate medical professional.

33486.  

(a)  begin delete Every school year, a end delete begin insert A end insert coach of an athletic activity
shall complete the sudden cardiac arrest training course begin delete provided
by Simon’s Fund or another provider approved by the department. end delete
begin insert specified in subdivision (b) of Section 33482 and shall retake the
training course every two years thereafter. end insert

(b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach
begin delete the end delete begin insert an end insert athletic activity until the coach completes the training course
required under subdivision (a).

33487.  

(a) On and after July 1, 2019, a coach who violates
subdivision (a) of Section 33485 or Section 33486 shall be subject
to the following penalties:

(1) For a first violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
activity for the remainder of the season.

(2) For a second violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
activity for the remainder of the season and for the next season.

(3) For a third violation, permanent suspension from coaching
any athletic activity.

(b) A coach shall not be exposed to civil liability for his or her
action or inaction under this article unless the coach is found to
have acted in a grossly negligent or reckless manner.

33488.  

The sponsors of youth athletic activities are encouraged
to follow the guidelines specified in this article.

33489.  

This article is operative on July 1, 2017.