Establishing the school health-related emergency response plan competitive grant program within the department of education, making appropriations, and including applicability provisions

The bill also defines “cardiac emergency response plan” to mean a written document that establishes the specific steps to be taken by employees or contractors of a school to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency on school property, during physical education, during an extracurricular athletic activity or contest, during practice associated with an extracurricular athletic activity or contest, or during a school-sponsored activity, and to reduce the likelihood of the individual’s death from cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency, and that integrates core elements of guidance adopted by the American heart association. Additionally, the bill defines “school” as a school district, accredited nonpublic school, charter school, or innovation zone school. The bill provides that if the general assembly appropriates moneys to the school health-related emergency response plan competitive grant program fund, DE is required to develop and administer a school health-related emergency response plan competitive grant program to provide grants to schools to offset the costs associated with the school’s development and implementation of a cardiac emergency response plan that satisfies the requirements established in the bill. The state board of education is required to adopt rules to administer the school health-related emergency response plan competitive grant program. The bill provides that moneys awarded under the school health-related emergency response plan competitive grant program shall be used to supplement, not supplant, existing public funding used by a school district for similar purposes. The bill applies to school years beginning on or after July 1, 2027.