HB5394 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 39286 RJT 69440 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5394

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Rep. Anna Moeller

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

105 ILCS 110/3
105 ILCS 128/5
105 ILCS 128/15
105 ILCS 128/60 new

Amends the School Safety Drill Act. Provides that, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a school district shall develop a cardiac emergency response plan that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while at a school or at a school-sponsored activity or event. Provides that a principal or other person having administrative control over the school must ensure that the plan is (1) available to the school community on the school's Internet website and in a paper form at various locations at the school, and (2) distributed to all coaches and other athletic staff members at each school, all persons responsible for executing the plan in the event of a cardiac emergency, all healthcare professionals that provide medical services during a school-sponsored activity or event, and to other appropriate school staff, as determined by the principal or other person having administrative control over the school. Specifies what a cardiac emergency response plan shall include. Provides that a school district shall provide all members of a cardiac emergency response team with the training necessary to implement a cardiac emergency response plan. Amends the Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act to make related changes. Effective July 1, 2024.

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Critical Health Problems and Comprehensive Health Education Act is amended by changing Section 3 as follows:

(105 ILCS 110/3)

Sec. 3. Comprehensive Health Education Program. The program established under this Act shall include, but not be limited to, the following major educational areas as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: human ecology and health; human growth and development; the emotional, psychological, physiological, hygienic, and social responsibilities of family life, including sexual abstinence until marriage; the prevention and control of disease, including instruction in grades 6 through 12 on the prevention, transmission, and spread of AIDS; age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention education in grades pre-kindergarten through 12; public and environmental health; consumer health; safety education and disaster survival; mental health and illness; personal health habits; alcohol and drug use and abuse, including the medical and legal ramifications of alcohol, drug, and tobacco use; abuse during pregnancy; evidence-based and medically accurate information regarding sexual abstinence; tobacco and e-cigarettes and other vapor devices; nutrition; and dental health. The instruction on mental health and illness must evaluate the multiple dimensions of health by reviewing the relationship between physical and mental health so as to enhance student understanding, attitudes, and behaviors that promote health, well-being, and human dignity and must include how and where to find mental health resources and specialized treatment in the State. The program shall also provide course material and instruction to advise pupils of the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. The program shall include information about cancer, including, without limitation, types of cancer, signs and symptoms, risk factors, the importance of early prevention and detection, and information on where to go for help. Notwithstanding the above educational areas, the following areas may also be included as a basis for curricula in all elementary and secondary schools in this State: basic first aid (including, but not limited to, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the Heimlich maneuver), heart disease, diabetes, stroke, the prevention of child abuse, neglect, and suicide, and teen dating violence in grades 7 through 12. Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, training on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (which training must be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization) and how to use an automated external defibrillator shall be included as a basis for curricula in all secondary schools in this State.

Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year in grades 9 through 12, the program shall include instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of allergies. Information for the instruction, study, and discussion shall come from information provided by the Department of Public Health and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This instruction, study, and discussion shall include, at a minimum:

(1) recognizing the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis;

(2) the steps to take to prevent exposure to allergens; and

(3) safe emergency epinephrine administration.

The school board of each public elementary and secondary school in the State shall encourage all teachers and other school personnel to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer life-saving techniques, including, without limitation, the Heimlich maneuver and rescue breathing. The training shall be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization. A school board may use the services of non-governmental entities whose personnel have expertise in life-saving techniques to instruct teachers and other school personnel in these techniques. Each school board is encouraged to have in its employ, or on its volunteer staff, at least one person who is certified, by the American Red Cross or by another qualified certifying agency, as qualified to administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In addition, each school board is authorized to allocate appropriate portions of its institute or inservice days to conduct training programs for teachers and other school personnel who have expressed an interest in becoming qualified to administer emergency first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Unless otherwise required under Section 60 of the School Safety Drill Act, school School boards are urged to encourage their teachers and other school personnel who coach school athletic programs and other extracurricular school activities to acquire, develop, and maintain the knowledge and skills necessary to properly administer first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation in accordance with standards and requirements established by the American Red Cross or another qualified certifying agency. Subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education shall establish and administer a matching grant program to pay for half of the cost that a school district incurs in training those teachers and other school personnel who express an interest in becoming qualified to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (which training must be in accordance with standards of the American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization) or in learning how to use an automated external defibrillator. A school district that applies for a grant must demonstrate that it has funds to pay half of the cost of the training for which matching grant money is sought. The State Board of Education shall award the grants on a first-come, first-serve basis.

No pupil shall be required to take or participate in any class or course on AIDS or family life instruction or to receive training on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation or how to use an automated external defibrillator if his or her parent or guardian submits written objection thereto, and refusal to take or participate in the course or program or the training shall not be reason for suspension or expulsion of the pupil.

Curricula developed under programs established in accordance with this Act in the major educational area of alcohol and drug use and abuse shall include classroom instruction in grades 5 through 12. The instruction, which shall include matters relating to both the physical and legal effects and ramifications of drug and substance abuse, shall be integrated into existing curricula; and the State Board of Education shall develop and make available to all elementary and secondary schools in this State instructional materials and guidelines which will assist the schools in incorporating the instruction into their existing curricula. In addition, school districts may offer, as part of existing curricula during the school day or as part of an after-school after school program, support services and instruction for pupils or pupils whose parent, parents, or guardians are chemically dependent. Curricula developed under programs established in accordance with this Act in the major educational area of alcohol and drug use and abuse shall include the instruction, study, and discussion required under subsection (c) of Section 27-13.2 of the School Code.

(Source: P.A. 102-464, eff. 8-20-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-1034, eff. 1-1-23; 103-212, eff. 1-1-24; 103-365, eff. 1-1-24; revised 12-12-23.)

Section 10. The School Safety Drill Act is amended by changing Sections 5 and 15 and by adding Section 60 as follows:

(105 ILCS 128/5)

Sec. 5. Definitions. In this Act:

"Cardiac emergency response plan" means a written document that establishes specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest. A cardiac emergency response plan must integrate evidence-based core elements, such as those recommended by the American Heart Association.

"First responder" means and includes all fire departments and districts, law enforcement agencies and officials, emergency medical responders, emergency medical dispatchers, and emergency management officials involved in the execution and documentation of the drills administered under this Act.

"School" means a public or private facility that offers elementary or secondary education to students under the age of 21. As used in this definition, "public facility" means a facility operated by the State or by a unit of local government. As used in this definition, "private facility" means any non-profit, non-home-based, non-public elementary or secondary school that is in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and attendance at which satisfies the requirements of Section 26-1 of the School Code. While more than one school may be housed in a facility, for purposes of this Act, the facility shall be considered a school. When a school has more than one location, for purposes of this Act, each different location shall be considered its own school.

"School district" means any public school district established under the School Code, any program of a special education joint agreement established under Section 3-15.14, 10-22.31, or 10-22.31a of the School Code, or any charter school authorized by the State Board of Education in accordance with Section 27A-7.5 of the School Code.

"School safety drill" means a pre-planned exercise conducted by a school in accordance with the drills and requirements set forth in this Act.

(Source: P.A. 102-894, eff. 5-20-22; 102-1006, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-175, eff. 6-30-23.)

(105 ILCS 128/15)

Sec. 15. Types of drills. Under this Act, the following school safety drills shall be instituted by all schools in this State:

(1) School evacuation drills, which shall address and prepare students and school personnel for situations that occur when conditions outside of a school building are safer than inside a school building. Evacuation incidents are based on the needs of particular communities and may include without limitation the following:

(A) fire;

(B) suspicious items or persons;

(C) incidents involving hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, and explosives; and

(D) bomb threats.

(2) Except as limited by subsection (b-5) of Section 20 of this Act, bus evacuation drills, which shall address and prepare students and school personnel for situations that occur when conditions outside of a bus are safer than inside the bus. Evacuation incidents are based on the needs of particular communities and may include without limitation the following:

(A) fire;

(B) suspicious items; and

(C) incidents involving hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, and explosives.

(3) Law enforcement drills, which shall address and prepare school personnel for situations calling for the involvement of law enforcement when conditions inside a school building are safer than outside of a school building and it is necessary to protect building occupants from potential dangers in a school building. Law enforcement drills may involve situations that call for the reverse-evacuation or the lock-down of a school building. Evacuation or reverse-evacuation incidents shall include a shooting incident.

(4) Severe weather and shelter-in-place drills, which shall address and prepare students for situations involving severe weather emergencies or the release of external gas or chemicals. Severe weather and shelter-in-place incidents shall be based on the needs and environment of particular communities and may include without limitation the following:

(A) severe weather, including, but not limited to, shear winds, lightning, and earthquakes;

(B) incidents involving hazardous materials, including, but not limited to, chemical, incendiary, and explosives; and

(C) incidents involving weapons of mass destruction, including, but not limited to, biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons.

(5) Cardiac emergency drills.

(Source: P.A. 100-443, eff. 8-25-17.)

(105 ILCS 128/60 new)

Sec. 60. Cardiac emergency response plan.

(a) Beginning with the 2024-2025 school year, a school district shall develop a cardiac emergency response plan that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while at a school or at a school-sponsored activity or event. A principal or other person having administrative control over the school must ensure that the plan is:

(1) available to the school community on the school's Internet website and in paper form at various locations at the school; and

(2) distributed to all coaches and other athletic staff members at each school, all persons responsible for executing the plan in the event of a cardiac emergency, all healthcare professionals that provide medical services during a school-sponsored activity or event, and to other appropriate school staff, as determined by the principal or other person having administrative control over the school.

(b) A cardiac emergency response plan must contain all of the following:

(1) Identify the members of a cardiac emergency response team at each school who are on duty during the regular school day.

(2) Provide guidelines for the cardiac emergency response team's response to sudden cardiac arrest.

(3) Identify where automatic external defibrillators are located at the school, in accordance with the Physical Fitness Facility Medical Emergency Preparedness Act, guidelines from the American Heart Association, or other nationally recognized guidelines focused on emergency cardiovascular care, and the maintenance schedule for the automatic external defibrillators.

(4) Require training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and automatic external defibrillator use for coaches, assistant coaches, and other school staff identified by school administrators.

(5) Describe the procedures that must be followed after a serious or life-threatening injury occurs at an athletic event or activity, including, but not limited to, responding to the injured individual, summoning emergency medical care, assisting emergency medical service providers, and documenting the actions taken during the emergency.

(6) Encourage cooperation and coordination with community members such as emergency medical technicians and paramedics, among others.

(c) A school district shall provide all members of a cardiac emergency response team with the training necessary to implement a cardiac emergency response plan.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect July 1, 2024.