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An Act To Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA c. 223, sub-c. 10  is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 10
SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST PREVENTION ACT
§ 6671. Short title
This subchapter may be known and cited as "the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act."
§ 6672. Definitions
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
1.  Athletic activity.     "Athletic activity" means an activity taking place in the presence of or under the supervision of an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer and includes:
 
A.  Interscholastic athletics;
 
B.  An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic athletics, that is sponsored by or associated with a school, including cheerleading, club-sponsored sports activities and sports activities sponsored by school-affiliated organizations;
 
C.  Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by or associated with a school; and
 
D.  Practices, interschool practices and scrimmages for all of the activities listed under paragraphs A to C.
§ 6673. Sudden cardiac arrest
 
1.  Educational materials.     The Department of Education shall develop and post on its publicly accessible website guidelines and other relevant materials to inform and educate students participating in or desiring to participate in an athletic activity, their parents and their coaches about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, including the risks associated with continuing to play or practice after experiencing the following symptoms: fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained shortness of breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate and extreme fatigue.
 
2.  Receipt and review.     A student participating in or desiring to participate in an athletic activity and the student's parent or guardian shall, each school year and prior to participation by the student in an athletic activity, sign and return to the student's school an acknowledgment of receipt and review of the sudden cardiac arrest symptoms informational and educational guidelines under subsection 1.
 
3.  Removal from participation.     An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer:
 
A.  Shall remove from participation at that time a student who loses consciousness while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity or who is known to have lost consciousness while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity;
 
B.  May remove a student who exhibits any of the symptoms described in subsection 1 during an athletic activity from participation if the athletic director, coach or athletic trainer reasonably believes that the symptoms are cardiac-related; and
 
C.  Shall notify the parents of a student who has been removed from participation under paragraph A or B.
 
A student who is removed from participation under paragraph A or B may not return to participation in an athletic activity until the student is evaluated and cleared for return to participation in writing by an appropriate medical professional.
 
4.  Training course.     This subsection governs the training of athletic directors, coaches and athletic trainers in the subject of sudden cardiac arrest.
 
A.  Once each school year, an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer shall complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course provided by a 3rd party approved by the department.
 
B.  An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer is not eligible to coach or supervise an athletic activity until completion of the training course required under this subsection.
 
5.  Penalties.     A school board that finds an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer to have violated subsection 4 shall impose the following penalties:
 
A.  For a first violation, suspension from coaching or supervising any athletic activity for the remainder of the season;
 
B.  For a 2nd violation, suspension from coaching or supervising any athletic activity for the remainder of the season and for the next season; and
 
C.  For a 3rd violation, permanent suspension from coaching or supervising any athletic activity.
 
6.  Civil liability.     An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer is not subject to civil liability for a violation of this subchapter unless the athletic director, coach or athletic trainer is found to have been grossly negligent or reckless.
 
SUMMARY
This bill enacts the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act, which provides for education regarding sudden cardiac arrest in students engaged in athletics, the removal from athletic events of students who exhibit symptoms of cardiac arrest, education and training for athletic directors, coaches and athletic trainers and penalties for violations of the Act.