BILL REQ. #:  H-0421.1 

Read first time 01/19/2007.   Referred to Committee on Education.

     AN ACT Relating to automatic external defibrillators in public schools; adding a new section to chapter 28A.210 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that sudden cardiac arrest is the leading single cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than three hundred twenty-five thousand deaths each year. Effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including defibrillation, that is provided immediately after cardiac arrest can double a victim's chance of survival. Survival rates drop seven to ten percent for each minute without defibrillation.
     (2) The legislature further finds that on many days, as much as twenty percent of the nation's combined adult and child population can be found in a school. Installation of an automatic external defibrillator is one component of an overall school medical emergency response plan recommended by the American heart association.
     (3) Therefore the legislature intends to protect the health and lives of the state's citizens by ensuring that automatic external defibrillators are placed in each public high school and by providing the funding necessary to phase in this requirement by the 2010 school year.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28A.210 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall develop a plan to phase in the placement of automatic external defibrillators in all public high schools in the state by September 1, 2010. Between September 1, 2007, and September 1, 2010, the plan shall require an increasing number of public high schools in each successive year to have an automatic external defibrillator located in the school.
     (2) Subject to funding provided for the purposes of this section, school district boards of directors shall:
     (a) Provide for the placement of an automatic external defibrillator in each public high school in the district according to the plan developed by the office of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (b) Ensure that the automatic external defibrillator is placed in a prominent location and is readily accessible during the school day and for extracurricular activities such as sporting events outside the school day;
     (c) Comply with the requirements of RCW 70.54.310, including training of personnel, use of the defibrillator, and notification of the local emergency medical services organization about the location of the defibrillator; and
     (d) Include instruction in the use of the defibrillator in staff training and the health and fitness curriculum.
     (3) For the purposes of this section, "high school" includes any public school that enrolls students in grades ten, eleven, or twelve.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.