California Assembly Bill AB1639 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1639AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 9, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Maienschein  (   Coauthors:   Assembly Members   Bonilla  and Dodd   )  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  and  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  activities   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  participating   the pupil participates  in an athletic activity. 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  each   every other  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  (3) ,   (3),  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  develop   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,  and  shall  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,  and   or  extreme fatigue. (b) In developing the guidelines and materials, the department may  use, at no cost to the state,   use an educational video  created by Simon's Fund,   hosted on the National Federation of High School Associations Internet Web site,  or  similar material of  another provider approved by the department,  for the purpose of educating   as a training course to educate  coaches about sudden cardiac arrest.  (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.  33483. Each school year, before  participation   a pupil participates  in an athletic activity,  a   the  pupil and the  pupil's   pupil's  parent or guardian shall sign and return to the  pupil's   pupil's  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)  Every school year, a   A  coach of an athletic activity shall complete the sudden cardiac arrest training course  provided by Simon's Fund or another provider approved by the department.   specified in subdivision (b) of Section 33482 and shall retake the training course every two years thereafter.  (b) A coach of an athletic activity shall not be eligible to coach  the   an  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.