Requires schools safety plans to include a cardiac emergency response plan, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  785--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SOLAGES, SAYEGH, DAVILA, PALMESANO, ZACCARO,
   CRUZ, TAYLOR,  O'PHARROW,  CUNNINGHAM,  BUTTENSCHON,  KELLES,  GIGLIO,
   MAHER,  McMAHON,  ANDERSON,  KASSAY, TORRES, DAIS, BORES, SHIMSKY, RA,
   SLATER, GANDOLFO, McDONOUGH,  DURSO,  K. BROWN,  LUNSFORD,  ROSENTHAL,
   DeSTEFANO  --  read once and referred to the Committee on Education --
   committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as  amended  and
   recommitted to said committee
 
 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:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Desha's law".
   §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 917 of the education law, as amended by
 chapter 61 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   1. School districts, boards of cooperative educational services, coun-
 ty vocational education and extension boards and charter  schools  shall
 provide and maintain on-site in each instructional school facility auto-
 mated  external  defibrillator  (AED) equipment, as defined in paragraph
 (a) of subdivision one of section three thousand-b of the public  health
 law,  in quantities and types deemed by the commissioner in consultation
 with the commissioner of health to  be  adequate  to  ensure  ready  and
 appropriate  access  for use during emergencies. SUCH AUTOMATED EXTERNAL
 DEFIBRILLATORS SHALL  BE  CLEARLY  MARKED,  ACCESSIBLE,  AND  MAINTAINED
 CONSISTENT  WITH  GUIDELINES  SET  BY THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, OR
 OTHER NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED GUIDELINES FOCUSED ON EMERGENCY CARDIOVASCU-
 LAR CARE.
   § 3. Paragraphs h, l and m  of subdivision 2 of section 2801-a of  the
 education  law, paragraph h as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter
 54 of the laws of 2016 and paragraphs l and m as amended by  chapter  30

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00364-03-5
 A. 785--A                           2
 
 of  the laws of 2021, are amended and a new paragraph n is added to read
 as follows:
   h. policies and procedures for annual school safety training for staff
 and students; provided that the district must certify to the commission-
 er  that  all  staff  have  undergone  annual  training on the emergency
 response plan, and that the school safety training include components on
 violence prevention [and], mental health AND SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST, such
 training may be implemented and conducted in conjunction  with  existing
 professional development and training; provided however that new employ-
 ees  hired  after  the  start  of the school year shall receive training
 within thirty days of such hire or as part of a district's existing  new
 hire training program, whichever is sooner;
   l.  the  designation of the superintendent, or superintendent's desig-
 nee, as the district chief emergency officer responsible for  coordinat-
 ing  communication  between  school  staff and law enforcement and first
 responders, and ensuring staff understanding of the district-level safe-
 ty plan. The chief emergency  officer  shall  also  be  responsible  for
 ensuring  the completion and yearly updating of building-level emergency
 response plans; [and]
   m. protocols for responding to a  declared  state  disaster  emergency
 involving  a communicable disease that are substantially consistent with
 the provisions of section twenty-seven-c of the labor law[.]; AND
   N. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES RELATING  TO  SUDDEN  CARDIAC  ARREST.  THE
 DISTRICT-WIDE  SCHOOL  SAFETY TEAM SHALL DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A CARDIAC
 EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN THAT ADDRESSES THE USE OF APPROPRIATE  PERSONNEL
 TO  RESPOND  TO  INCIDENTS  INVOLVING ANY INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCING SUDDEN
 CARDIAC ARREST OR SIMILAR LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCY ON ANY SCHOOL  SITE
 OWNED  OR  OPERATED  BY  A SCHOOL OR AT A LOCATION OF A SCHOOL SPONSORED
 EVENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ALL  ATHLETIC  PROGRAMS.  SUCH  PLAN
 SHALL  BE  A  WRITTEN DOCUMENT AND SHALL INCLUDE SPECIFIC PROCEDURES FOR
 INCIDENTS INVOLVING AN INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCING SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST  OR
 A SIMILAR LIFE-THREATENING EMERGENCY WHILE ATTENDING OR PARTICIPATING IN
 AN  ATHLETIC  PRACTICE  OR  EVENT WHILE ON SCHOOL GROUNDS THAT ARE VENUE
 SPECIFIC. EACH PLAN SHALL  INTEGRATE  NATIONALLY  RECOGNIZED,  EVIDENCE-
 BASED  CORE  ELEMENTS,  SUCH  AS THOSE RECOMMENDED BY THE AMERICAN HEART
 ASSOCIATION.   SCHOOL OFFICIALS SHALL CONSIDER  HOW  TO  BEST  INTEGRATE
 THEIR  CARDIAC  EMERGENCY  RESPONSE  PLAN  INTO  COMMUNITY EMS RESPONDER
 PROTOCOLS. THE DISTRICT-WIDE SCHOOL SAFETY TEAM MAY PROVIDE  FIRST  AID,
 CPR,  AND  AED  TRAINING FOR RELEVANT STAFF, INCLUDING MEMBERS OF BUILD-
 ING-LEVEL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAMS PROVIDED FOR IN SUBDIVISION  FOUR  OF
 THIS SECTION, PROVIDED THAT SUCH TRAINING SHALL BE VOLUNTARY.
   §  4.  Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education
 law, as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter  54  of  the  laws  of
 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  policies and procedures for response to emergency situations, such
 as those requiring evacuation, sheltering, [and] lock-down,  AND  SUDDEN
 CARDIAC  ARREST.  These policies shall include, at a minimum, evacuation
 routes, shelter sites, and  procedures  for  addressing  medical  needs,
 transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardians;
   §  5.  Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education
 law, as amended by chapter 25 of the laws of 2025, is amended to read as
 follows:
   a. policies and procedures for response to emergency situations,  such
 as  those  requiring evacuation, sheltering, [and] lock-down, AND SUDDEN
 CARDIAC ARREST. These policies shall include, at a  minimum,  evacuation
 A. 785--A                           3
 
 routes,  shelter  sites,  and  procedures  for addressing medical needs,
 transportation and emergency notification of parents and guardians;
   § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it  shall  have  become a law; provided, however, that the amendments to
 paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 2801-a of the education law made
 by section five of this act shall take effect on the same  date  and  in
 the  same manner as chapter 25 of the laws of 2025, takes effect. Effec-
 tive immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any  rule  or
 regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective
 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective
 date.