Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill to require schools to adopt response plans for cardiac emergencies

ALBANY — New York’s public schools will be required to add cardiac emergency response plans to their safety protocols under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The legislation, which takes effect in mid-January, aims to ensure that school districts have procedures in place to respond to individuals experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or similar life-threatening emergencies on school property or during school-sponsored events.

"No family should have to experience the heartbreak of losing a child when a life could have been saved,” Hochul said in a news release, adding that the law "will ensure our schools are prepared to respond in an emergency, giving every student a better chance at a healthy, active life.”

The legislation, known as "Desha's Law," was named in memory of bill sponsor State Sen. April N.M. Baskin’s cousin Desha Sanders, 12, who died after going into cardiac arrest while playing basketball at school. While her school had an automated external defibrillator, or AED, no one could find the keys to open the unit, Baskin (D-Buffalo) has said.

"With the implementation of Desha's Law, a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP), a detailed outline on what steps to take in a cardiac emergency, will be in place at every public school across the state,” Baskin said in the release Thursday.

Schools are legally required to have at least one functional AED, and last year the state began requiring all camps and youth sports programs with five teams or more to create AED implementation plans and to have at least one person trained to properly use the equipment at games, camps and practices.

The latest legislation will require schools to ensure the equipment is clearly marked, accessible and maintained consistent with guidelines set by nationally recognized groups such as the American Heart Association. 

In a July memo to Hochul’s office, the state Education Department had called for some tweaks to the legislation including clearly identifying and clarifying the bill’s requirements, as well as addressing the issue through health emergency plans created by directors of school health services instead of as part of larger-scale emergency planning. "While the goals of this legislation are laudable, it could create disparate requirements from existing laws and regulations,” the memo said.

Robert Lowry, a deputy director of the New York State Council of School Superintendents, told Newsday the requirements were "reasonable,” but noted that districts should already have some policies in place in part because of the AED mandate.

State Sen. Steven Rhoads (R-Bellmore), who co-sponsored the bill, applauded its passage. "As a firefighter, I’ve seen firsthand how every second counts in a cardiac emergency,” he said in an emailed statement. "Desha’s Law ensures our schools are prepared to act quickly and decisively — because having a plan in place can mean the difference between life and death.”