AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

H.B. 897 is intended to require all public school students in Texas to receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) prior to graduation. H.B. 897 will make a difference in saving lives.  Less than half (41 percent) of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR before getting to the hospital.

 

If H.B. 897 becomes law, schools are to offer training at least once between grades seven through 12. Basic training can be done in around 30 minutes. Schools will have six years to fit in a 30-minute training, so it will not be a daily interference with school curriculum.

 

The bill will not make CPR a separate class or an individual credit. The CPR course will also not require students to become CPR certified after completion. Since training will not lead to certification, instructors are not required to be certified.

 

The bill allows for partnership/collaboration with fire departments, emergency management services, hospitals, or any group to come in and provide manikins and the training—or any instructor or school district employee can teach the 30-minute course. This will also reduce cost and allow the pool of eligible instructors to increase. The curriculum can be obtained through the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or any other approved program.

 

H.B. 897 allows school districts to place the training in a class of the district's choice, such as physical education, health, and science classes. This bill ensures that students practice “hands-on” training with a manikin to learn the psychomotor skills necessary to perform CPR. Only public school districts and open-enrollment charter schools are required to comply.

 

H.B. 897 amends current law relating to instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators in secondary education curriculum.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

Rulemaking authority previously granted to the State Board of Education is modified in SECTION 2 (Section 28.0023, Education Code) of this bill.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Authorizes this Act to be cited as the Edmund Kuempel Act.

 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 28.0023, Education Code, by amending Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), (f), and (g), as follows:

 

(b) Requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) by rule to require instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator for students in grades 7 through 12, rather than requiring SBOE by rule to include elements relating to instruction in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator as part of the essential knowledge and skills of the health curriculum under Section 28.002(a)(2)(B) (relating to including health in an enrichment curiculum).

 

(c) Requires a school district or open-enrollment charter school, rather than a private school, to provide instruction to students in grades 7 through 12 in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of an automated external defibrillator in a manner consistent with the requirements of this section (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Automated External Defibrillator Instruction) and SBOE rules adopted under this section.  Deletes existing text providing that this subsection applies only to a private school that receives an automated external defibrillator from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) or receives funding from TEA to purchase or lease an automated external defibrillator.  Authorizes the instruction to be provided as a part of any course. Requires a student to receive the instruction at least once before graduation.

 

(d) Authorizes a school administrator to waive the curriculum requirement under this section for an eligible student who has a disability.

 

(e) Requires that cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator instruction include cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillator training that has been developed:

 

(1)  by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross; or

 

(2) using nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines for emergency cardiovascular care and incorporating psychomotor skills to support the instruction.

 

(f)  Defines "psychomotor skills" for purposes of Subsection (e).

 

(g) Authorizes a school district or open-enrollment charter school to use emergency medical technicians, paramedics, police officers, firefighters, representatives of the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross, teachers, other school employees, or other similarly qualified individuals to provide instruction and training under this section.  Provides that instruction provided under this section is not required to result in certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or the use of an automated external defibrillator.  Requires the course instructor to be authorized to provide the instruction by the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, or a similar nationally recognized association if instruction is intended to result in certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation or the use of an automated external defibrillator.

 

SECTION 3. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

 

SECTION 4.  Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2013.