Amended in Assembly April 7, 2016

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 Members Bonilla, Brough, and Dodd)

(Coauthor: Senator Bates)

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 post on its Internet Web site guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiac arrest. 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 athletic activity, as specified. 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 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:

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 by a school, including cheerleading and
15club-sponsored sports activities.

16(3) Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by a school.

17(4) Practices, interscholastic practices, and scrimmages for all
18of the activities listed under paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive.

19(b) “School” means a public school, including a charter school,
20or private school that elects to conduct athletic activities.

21

33482.  

(a) The department shall post on its Internet Web site
22guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac
23arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials
P3    1to inform and educate pupils and parents, and to train coaches
2about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest,
3including the risks associated with continuing to play or practice
4after experiencing fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained
5shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate, or
6extreme fatigue.

7(b) Materials posted by the department on its Internet Web site
8may include, but are not necessarily limited to, those developed
9or used for sudden cardiac arrest education and coaches training
10by the National Federation of High School Associations, the Eric
11Paredes Save A Life Foundation, or the California Interscholastic
12Federation.

13(c) School districts and schools are encouraged to post on their
14Internet Web sites the information and material required to be
15posted by the department pursuant to subdivision (a) to give pupils,
16parents, and coaches ready access to the information.

17

33483.  

Each school year, before a pupil participates in an
18athletic activity governed by the California Interscholastic
19Federation, the school shall collect and retain a copy of the sudden
20cardiac arrest information sheet required by the California
21Interscholastic Federation for that pupil. Before a pupil participates
22in an athletic activity not governed by the California Interscholastic
23Federation, the pupil and the pupil’s parent or guardian shall sign
24and return to the pupil’s school an acknowledgment of receipt and
25review of the information sheet posted on the department’s Internet
26Web site pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 33482.

27

33484.  

A school may hold an informational meeting before
28the start of each athletic season for all ages of competitors regarding
29the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest. In
30addition to pupils, parents, coaches, and other school officials,
31informational meetings may include physicians, pediatric
32cardiologists, and athletic trainers.

33

33485.  

(a) A pupil who passes out or faints while participating
34in or immediately following an athletic activity, or who is known
35to have passed out or fainted while participating in or immediately
36following an athletic activity, shall be removed from participation
37at that time by the athletic director, coach, or athletic trainer.

38(b) A pupil who exhibits any of the other symptoms of sudden
39cardiac arrest, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 33482,
40during an athletic activity, may be removed from participation by
P4    1an athletic trainer, if the athletic trainer reasonably believes that
2the symptoms are cardiac related. In the absence of an athletic
3trainer, any coach who observes any of the symptoms of sudden
4cardiac arrest shall notify the parent or guardian of the pupil so
5that the parent or guardian can determine what treatment, if any,
6the pupil should seek.

7(c) A pupil who is removed from play under this section shall
8not be permitted to return to participate in an athletic activity until
9the pupil is evaluated and cleared to return to participate in writing
10by abegin delete licensed health care provider.end deletebegin insert physician and surgeon, or a
11nurse practitioner or physician assistant practicing in accordance
12with standardized procedures or protocols developed by the
13supervising physician and surgeon and the nurse practitioner or
14physician assistant, as applicable.end insert

15(d) This section does not apply to a pupil engaging in an athletic
16activity during the regular schoolday or as part of a physical
17education course required pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
1851220 unless it constitutes a practice, interscholastic practice, or
19scrimmage pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section
2033481.

21

33486.  

(a) A coach of an athletic activity shall complete the
22sudden cardiac arrest training course specified in Section 33482
23and shall retake the training course every two years thereafter.

24(b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach
25an athletic activity until the coach completes the training course
26required under subdivision (a).

27

33487.  

begin delete(a)end deletebegin deleteend deleteOn and after July 1, 2019, a coach who violates
28Section 33486 shall be subject to suspension from coaching any
29athletic activity until completion of the required training.

begin delete

30(b) A coach shall not be exposed to civil liability for his or her
31action or inaction under this article unless the coach is found to
32have acted in a grossly negligent or reckless manner.

end delete
33

33488.  

The sponsors of youth athletic activities are encouraged
34to follow the guidelines specified in this article.

35

33489.  

This article is operative on July 1, 2017.



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