Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 9, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1639


Introduced by Assembly Member Maienschein

(Coauthors: Assembly Membersbegin delete Bonillaend deletebegin insert Bonilla, Brough,end insert and Dodd)

begin insert

(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

end insert

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 tobegin delete develop guidelinesend deletebegin insert post on its Internet Web site guidelines, videos,end insert and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiacbegin delete arrest, and to post the information on the department’s Internet Web site.end deletebegin insert arrest.end insert The bill would require a pupil in any public school, including a charter school, or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities, and the pupil’s parent or guardian, to sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs each school year before the pupil participates in an athleticbegin delete activity.end deletebegin insert activity, as specified.end insert The bill would require an athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer to remove from participation a pupil who passes out or faints while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity, and would require a coach of an athletic activity to complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course every other school year. The bill would impose penalties, on and after July 1, 2019, for a violation of the provision requiringbegin delete removal of a pupil from an athletic activity and the provision requiringend delete 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:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

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

4 

5Article 14.  Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act
6

 

7

33480.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
8Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act.

9

33481.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
10apply:

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

12(1) Interscholastic athletics.

13(2) An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic
14athletics, that is sponsored bybegin delete or associated withend delete a school, including
15begin delete cheerleading,end deletebegin insert cheerleading andend insert club-sponsored sportsbegin delete activities,
16and sports activities sponsored by school-affiliated organizations.end delete

17
begin insert activities.end insert

18(3) Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored bybegin delete or
19associated withend delete
a school.

20(4) Practices, interscholastic practices, and scrimmages for all
21of the activities listed under paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

P3    1(b) “School” means a public school, including a charter school,
2or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities.

3

33482.  

(a) The department shallbegin delete develop, using relevant
4materials and training videos used by the Eric Paredes Save A Life
5Foundation, the California Interscholastic Federation, and the
6National Federation of High School Associations, and shallend delete
post
7on its Internet Web sitebegin delete guidelinesend deletebegin insert guidelines, videos,end insert and an
8information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning
9signs, and other relevant materials to inform and educatebegin delete pupils,end delete
10begin insert pupils andend insert parents, andbegin insert to trainend insert coaches about the nature and
11warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, including the risks
12associated with continuing to play or practice after experiencing
13fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained shortness of
14breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate, or extreme fatigue.

15(b) begin deleteIn developing the guidelines and materials, end deletebegin insertMaterials posted
16by end insert
the departmentbegin insert on its Internet Web siteend insert may begin delete use an educational
17video hosted onend delete
begin insert include, but are not necessarily limited to, those
18developed or used for sudden cardiac arrest education and coaches
19training byend insert
the National Federation of High School begin delete Associations
20Internet Web site, or similar material of another provider approved
21by the department, as a training course to educate coaches about
22sudden cardiac arrest.end delete
begin insert Associations, the Eric Paredes Save A Life
23Foundation, or the California Interscholastic Federation.end insert

24(c) School districts and schools are encouraged to post on their
25Internet Web sites the information and material required to be
26posted by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) to give pupils,
27parents, and coaches ready access to the information.

28

33483.  

Each school year, before a pupil participates in an
29athleticbegin delete activity, theend deletebegin insert activity governed by the California
30Interscholastic Federation, the school shall collect and retain a
31copy of the sudden cardiac arrest information sheet required by
32the California Interscholastic Federation for that pupil. Before a
33pupil participates in an athletic activity not governed by the
34California Interscholastic Federation, theend insert
pupil and the pupil’s
35parent or guardian shall sign and return to the pupil’s school an
36acknowledgment of receipt and review of the information sheet
37begin delete developed by the departmentend deletebegin insert posted on the department’s Internet
38Web siteend insert
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 33482.

39

33484.  

A school may hold an informational meeting before
40the start of each athletic season for all ages of competitors regarding
P4    1the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. In
2addition to pupils, parents, coaches, and other school officials,
3informational meetings may include physicians, pediatric
4cardiologists, and athletic trainers.

5

33485.  

(a) A pupil who passes out or faints while participating
6in or immediately following an athletic activity, or who is known
7to have passed out or fainted while participating in or immediately
8following an athletic activity, shall be removed from participation
9at that time by the athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer.

10(b) A pupil who exhibits any of the other symptoms of sudden
11cardiac arrest, asbegin delete set forthend deletebegin insert describedend insert in subdivision (a) of Section
1233482, during an athletic activity, may be removed from
13participation by an athletic trainer, if the athletic trainer reasonably
14believes that the symptoms are cardiac related. In the absence of
15an athletic trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms
16of sudden cardiac arrest shall notify the parent or guardian of the
17pupil so that the parent or guardian can determine what treatment,
18if any, the pupil should seek.

19(c) A pupil who is removed from play under this section shall
20not be permitted to return to participate in an athletic activity until
21the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return to participate in writing
22bybegin delete an appropriate medical professional.end deletebegin insert a licensed health care
23provider.end insert

begin insert

24
(d) This section does not apply to a pupil engaging in an athletic
25activity during the regular schoolday or as part of a physical
26education course required pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
2751220 unless it constitutes a practice, interscholastic practice, or
28scrimmage pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
2933481.

end insert
30

33486.  

(a) A coach of an athletic activity shall complete the
31sudden cardiac arrest training course specified inbegin delete subdivision (b)
32ofend delete
Section 33482 and shall retake the training course every two
33years thereafter.

34(b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach
35an athletic activity until the coach completes the training course
36required under subdivision (a).

37

33487.  

(a) On and after July 1, 2019, a coach who violates
38begin delete subdivision (a) of Section 33485 orend delete Section 33486 shall be subject
39tobegin delete the following penalties:end deletebegin insert suspension from coaching any athletic
40activity until completion of the required training.end insert

begin delete

P5    1(1) For a first violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
2activity for the remainder of the season.

end delete
begin delete

3(2) For a second violation, suspension from coaching any athletic
4activity for the remainder of the season and for the next season.

end delete
begin delete

5(3) For a third violation, permanent suspension from coaching
6any athletic activity.

end delete

7(b) A coach shall not be exposed to civil liability for his or her
8action or inaction under this article unless the coach is found to
9have acted in a grossly negligent or reckless manner.

10

33488.  

The sponsors of youth athletic activities are encouraged
11to follow the guidelines specified in this article.

12

33489.  

This article is operative on July 1, 2017.



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