INDIANA – The Indiana General Assembly recently passed legislation that expands Indiana Code (IC) 20-34-8 (Indiana’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest Law) to include additional requirements and recommendations regarding Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) for schools.
New requirements outlined in Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 369-2023 include the following:
- Sudden cardiac arrest training will now include training on the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED).
- Drama and musical leaders will now be required to complete sudden cardiac arrest and AED training.
- As required by state law, the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) will be conducting a statewide survey of school corporations, charter schools, and state-accredited non-public schools to determine the number of AEDs owned and school policies currently in effect as of July 1, 2023. IDOE plans to distribute this survey to schools in August 2023.
SEA 369 includes new AED language that is recommended but not required:
- Encourages schools to develop a venue-specific emergency action plan which includes detailed instructions regarding how to respond to sudden cardiac arrest and indicates the location of the nearest AED at the venue.
Encourages coaches and marching band, drama, and musical leaders to ensure that an operational AED is present at each event in which they are providing services. - Allows that one AED may be shared by two or more events if the events occur at the same time and are in close proximity to each other. Please see question five in this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for best practices regarding response times during two simultaneously occurring events.
- Encourages coaches and leaders to inform others of the location of the AEDs.
- Recommends the venue-specific emergency action plan that Ensures that AEDs are properly maintained.
- Establishes a goal of responding within three minutes to a sudden cardiac arrest occurring within the venue
- Establishes dates and times to conduct performance drills.
- Distributes, shares, and posts the plan for participants.
- Allows schools to apply for a grant under IC 10-21-1-2(a)(1)(C)(viii) to purchase an AED if the school develops a venue-specific emergency action plan for sudden cardiac arrest.
Documents to assist schools with implementing these requirements, including information sheets for students and parents, an acknowledgment form, a sample parent notification form, FAQ document, and links to approved courses can be found on IDEO’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest webpage.
