29.19b Cardiac emergency response plan; requirements; training; liability; appropriation; definitions.

706 words·~3 min read·/mi/chapter-29/29-19b

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Sec. 19b.

(1)Beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, the governing body of a public school or nonpublic school shall develop a cardiac emergency response plan that includes the use of school personnel to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest, or another similar life-threatening emergency, on the school's campus during school hours or during a school-sponsored event.

(2)If a public school or nonpublic school has an athletic department or organized athletic program, the cardiac emergency response plan described in subsection

(1)must include implementation at school-sponsored athletic events.

(3)A cardiac emergency response plan required under this section must be based on American Heart Association guidelines or other nationally recognized and evidence-based guidelines. The cardiac emergency response plan must provide for, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(a)The establishment of a cardiac emergency response team.

(b)The activation of the cardiac emergency response team during a sudden cardiac arrest or another similar life-threatening emergency.

(c)The placement of automated external defibrillators in accessible locations throughout the school's campus and athletic facilities that are easily retrievable and not locked or otherwise secured against public access. The automated external defibrillators must be clearly marked with appropriate identifying signage. It is recommended, to the extent possible and as funding allows, that the governing body of a public school or nonpublic school make the best effort possible to ensure that the automated external defibrillators described in this subdivision are accessible within 1 to 3 minutes of a cardiac emergency.

(d)The routine maintenance of the school's automated external defibrillators.

(e)The dissemination of the cardiac emergency response plan throughout the school's campus.

(f)The ongoing training of school personnel as described in subsection (4).

(g)The use of annual exercise simulations to practice the steps established in the cardiac emergency response plan. The annual exercise simulations described in this subdivision must require the participation of the members of the cardiac emergency response team.

(h)The integration of the cardiac emergency response plan with the local emergency response system and emergency response agencies.

(i)The ongoing and triennial review of the cardiac emergency response plan.

(4)Public school or nonpublic school personnel who are included in a cardiac emergency response plan required under this section must be trained in all of the following:

(a)Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

(b)First aid.

(c)The use of an automated external defibrillator, in accordance with American Heart Association guidelines.

(5)Public school or nonpublic school personnel who are included in the cardiac emergency response plan described in this section and who perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation or use an automated external defibrillator as part of the cardiac emergency response plan are not liable in a civil action for damages resulting from an act or omission occurring in that performance except an act or omission constituting gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.

(6)The governing body of a public school or nonpublic school and the local emergency response system and emergency response agencies shall integrate the school's cardiac emergency response plan or plans into the protocols of the local emergency response system and emergency response agencies.

(7)The legislature shall annually appropriate to the department of education an amount sufficient to administer and comply with this section. Public schools and nonpublic schools are not required to comply with this section unless the legislature has appropriated sufficient funds to implement the requirements of this section.

(8)As used in this section:

(a)"Automated external defibrillator" means a lightweight, portable device that analyzes an individual's heart through the individual's chest for a shockable rhythm, such as an irregular or abnormal rhythm, and can deliver an electric shock to the individual's heart that may restore its normal rhythm.

(b)"Cardiac emergency response plan" means a written document that establishes specific steps to reduce the chance of death from sudden cardiac arrest or another similar life-threatening emergency.

(c)"Nonpublic school" and "public school" mean those terms as defined in section 5 of the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.5.

(d)"Sudden cardiac arrest" means a life-threatening emergency in which an individual's heart suddenly stops beating.

History: Add. 2024, Act 36 , Eff. Apr. 2, 2025