Requires schools safety plans to include a cardiac emergency response plan that addresses the use of appropriate personnel and measures to respond to incidents involving any individual experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or similar life-threating emergency on any school site owned or operated by a school or at a location of a school sponsored event.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5539
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 24, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. BASKIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to requiring schools
safety plans to include a cardiac emergency response plan
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs h, l and m of subdivision 2 of section 2801-a
2 of the education law, paragraph h as amended by section 1 of part B of
3 chapter 54 of the laws of 2016 and paragraphs l and m as amended by
4 chapter 30 of the laws of 2021, are amended and a new paragraph n is
5 added to read as follows:
6 h. policies and procedures for annual school safety training for staff
7 and students; provided that the district must certify to the commission-
8 er that all staff have undergone annual training on the emergency
9 response plan, and that the school safety training include components on
10 violence prevention [and], mental health and sudden cardiac arrest, such
11 training may be implemented and conducted in conjunction with existing
12 professional development and training; provided however that new employ-
13 ees hired after the start of the school year shall receive training
14 within thirty days of such hire or as part of a district's existing new
15 hire training program, whichever is sooner;
16 l. the designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's desig-
17 nee, as the district chief emergency officer responsible for coordinat-
18 ing communication between school staff and law enforcement and first
19 responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safe-
20 ty plan. The chief emergency officer shall also be responsible for
21 ensuring the completion and yearly updating of building-level emergency
22 response plans; [and]
23 m. protocols for responding to a declared state disaster emergency
24 involving a communicable disease that are substantially consistent with
25 the provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor law[.]; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00364-01-5
S. 5539 2
1 n. policies and procedures relating to sudden cardiac arrest. The
2 district-wide school safety team shall develop and implement a cardiac
3 emergency response plan that addresses the use of appropriate personnel
4 to respond to incidents involving any individual experiencing sudden
5 cardiac arrest or similar life-threatening emergency on any school site
6 owned or operated by a school or at a location of a school sponsored
7 event, including but not limited to all athletic programs. Each school
8 with an athletic department or organized athletic program shall develop
9 an additional cardiac emergency response plan that addresses the appro-
10 priate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an
11 individual experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threat-
12 ening emergency while attending or participating in an athletic practice
13 or event while on school grounds that are venue specific. Each plan
14 shall integrate nationally recognized, evidence-based core elements,
15 such as those recommended by the American Heart Association.
16 (i) Cardiac emergency response plans shall include CPR training of
17 appropriate members of building-level response team members; including
18 but not limited to school personnel, coaches, school nurses and athletic
19 trainers. Each plan shall include provisions for clearly marking, making
20 accessible and maintaining the automated external defibrillator (AED)
21 consistent with guidelines set by the American Heart Association, or
22 other nationally recognized guidelines focused on emergency cardiovascu-
23 lar care and current requirements of the public access defibrillation
24 provider pursuant to sections three thousand-a and three thousand-b of
25 the public health law and section nine hundred seventeen of this chap-
26 ter. School officials shall work directly with local emergency service
27 providers to integrate the cardiac emergency response plan into the
28 community's EMS responder protocols. For the purpose of school athletic
29 events and facilities, an AED shall be clearly marked and easily acces-
30 sible in an unlocked location at each school athletic venue and event.
31 The AED shall be accessible during the school day and any school-spon-
32 sored athletic event or team practice, in which pupils of the school are
33 participating. An AED should be placed on a victim within three minutes
34 of the onset of sudden cardiac arrest.
35 (ii) District-wide school safety teams shall implement first-aid, CPR,
36 and AED training for members of the building-level school safety team
37 and any other appropriate school staff determined by the cardiac emer-
38 gency response plan, including but not limited to licensed coaches,
39 school nurses, and athletic trainers.
40 (iii) District-wide school safety teams shall consider, as part of its
41 reviews of the comprehensive district-wide safety plan, annual practice
42 drills and review of the cardiac emergency response plan.
43 (iv) As used in this paragraph:
44 (A) "cardiac emergency response plan" means a written document that
45 establishes the specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in
46 any setting, including but not limited to a school, community organiza-
47 tion, workplace, or sports facility; and
48 (B) "sudden cardiac arrest" occurs when a person's heart malfunctions
49 and stops beating unexpectedly.
50 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education
51 law, as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter 54 of the laws of
52 2016, is amended to read as follows:
53 a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations, such
54 as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, [and] lock-down, and sudden
55 cardiac arrest. These policies shall include, at a minimum, evacuation
S. 5539 3
1 routes, shelter sites, and procedures for addressing medical needs,
2 transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardians;
3 § 2-a. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the educa-
4 tion law, as amended by chapter 596 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations
7 including extreme heat conditions, such as those requiring evacuation,
8 sheltering, [and] lock-down, and sudden cardiac arrest. These policies
9 shall include, at a minimum, evacuation routes, shelter sites, and
10 procedures for addressing medical needs, transportation and emergency
11 notification of parents and guardians;
12 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
13 it shall have become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to
14 paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education law made
15 by section two of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
16 same manner as chapter 596 of the laws of 2024, takes effect. Effective
17 immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu-
18 lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
19 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective
20 date.
