Bill Text: CA SB1135 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: The California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1135 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1135-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  April 07, 2022

Amended  IN  Senate  March 09, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1135

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Introduced by Senator Jones
(Principal coauthor: Senator Bates)

February 16, 2022

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An act to add and repeal Section 33480 of, and to repeal Section 33479.9 of, the Education Code, relating to pupil health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1135, as amended, Jones. The California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program.

The Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act requires the State Department of Education to post on its internet website guidelines, videos, and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs, and other relevant materials relating to sudden cardiac arrest. The act also places certain duties on schools related to sudden cardiac arrest and requires athletic directors, coaches, athletic trainers, or authorized persons, as defined, to remove from participation a pupil who passes out or faints while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity.

This bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to establish the California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program to provide, among other things, free cardiac screening for pupils in grades 5 to 12, inclusive, for the 2022–23 to 2024–25 school years, inclusive, as specified. The bill would allow the department to administer the program itself, or to contract with a nonprofit organization to administer the program and certain funding, as specified. The bill would authorize the department to receive voluntary or reduced-cost services from medical providers and other individuals related to the program. The bill would require the department or a nonprofit organization administering the program to annually report certain information to the Department of Finance and to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature and would repeal the section establishing the California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program on January 1, 2026.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death on school campuses.

(b) One in 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. National Emergency Medical Services Information System data estimates that more than 23,000 youth are stricken with cardiac arrest each year.

(c) Fifty percent of sudden cardiac arrest occurs in youth without previous warning signs and youth without a family history that would identify cardiac abnormalities.

(d) For over three decades, the survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest has remained below 10 percent.

(e) Youth who survive sudden cardiac arrest may suffer long-term effects and require costly lifetime care, impacting families financially and emotionally.

(f) Families and friends of youth who do not survive suffer enduring emotional impacts, including stress, that require lifelong treatment and care.

(g) Due to sudden cardiac arrest’s significance and impact on the health system, the American Academy of Pediatrics, through their Bright Futures guidelines, is updating its screening criteria for sudden cardiac arrest, indicating that all youth should be screened for heart conditions at least every three years, and especially upon entry into middle and high school.

(h) California has been a leader in encouraging education on sudden cardiac arrest, but the state falls short in ensuring that this education occurs.

(i) The best way to identify all youth at risk of sudden cardiac arrest is through a combination of cardiac risk assessment of unreported symptoms and family history and electrocardiogram screenings.

(j) Recognizing the importance of screening, the United States Congress passed, and President Biden signed, a bill establishing a cardiac screening pilot program for certain United States military academies.

(k) There is a lack of preventative care infrastructure in California to adequately screen for at-risk youth and determine the overall benefits to the health system.

SEC. 2.

 Section 33479.9 of the Education Code is repealed.

SEC. 3.

 Section 33480 is added to the Education Code, to read:

33480.

 (a) The department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, shall establish the California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program. The program shall accomplish both of the following:

(1) Provide free cardiac screening for pupils in grades 5 to 12, inclusive, for the 2022–23 through 2024–25 school years, to include, at minimum, a cardiac risk assessment of warning signs and family history and a 12-lead electrocardiogram, with interpretation by a licensed medical provider skilled in acting within the scope of that provider’s practice for evaluation and management of sudden cardiac arrest assessment.

(2) (A) Solicit voluntary participation by private and public schools, including charter schools, or local educational agencies for a three-year term to participate in the pilot program.

(B) The program should, from among these voluntary school and local educational agency participants, select a sample that, to the extent practicable, represents the ethnic, economic, and urban and rural composition of the state.

(b) (1) (A) In administering the California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program, the department may elect to contract with a nonprofit organization to administer the program and any funding under this section. That

(B) That nonprofit organization shall submit annual budgets and actual expenses to the department on an annual basis and shall also report any donations or other funds that assisted the program. That

(C) That nonprofit organization shall annually report the number of pupils screened, their ages, the number of cardiac referrals, the economic and ethnic diversity of these pupils, and any other depersonalized data that the department may require to judge the program’s effectiveness, with oversight from a person skilled in electrophysiology interpretation.

(D) The department shall, on or before September 30 of each year, submit a written report on the information required by subparagraph (C) to the Department of Finance and to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.

(2) If the department chooses to administer the California Youth Cardiac Screening Pilot Program itself, the department shall prepare a written report at the conclusion of the program, shall, on or before September 30 of each year, submit a written report to the Department of Finance and to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature, including the number of pupils screened, their ages, the number of cardiac referrals, and the economic and ethnic diversity of these pupils, with oversight from a person skilled in electrophysiology interpretation.

(c) The department may receive voluntary or reduced-cost services from medical providers and other individuals related to the program.

(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.