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BILL # HB 2196 |
TITLE: schools; AEDs; CPR training; requirements |
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SPONSOR: Willoughby |
STATUS: As Amended by House ED |
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PREPARED BY: Gordon Robertson |
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The bill would require each public school that provides instruction to students in grades 9-12 and that sponsors an athletic team or sports program to provide an automated emergency defibrillator (AED) at each school-sponsored athletic event where students are present. The bill also requires each coach at a public school to complete a CPR training course. The bill includes a blank appropriation from the General Fund for the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) to distribute to schools to fund the requirements of the bill, with priority given to schools in which a majority of students are eligible for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch (majority FRPL schools).
Estimated Impact
We estimate the bill would have a General Fund cost of up to $1,031,800 for grants by ADE to public schools to fund the requirements of the bill. The actual cost could be lower to the extent that a school may already meet some of the requirements of the bill, if some schools do not have a sports program and thus are not subject to the bill, or if some schools choose not to use a nationally-recognized CPR training course and are thus ineligible for reimbursement of this expense.
According to the American Red Cross, a nonprofit humanitarian organization that provides various types of emergency aid, an AED costs approximately $1,500. In addition, according to the American AED/CPR Association, a CPR and first aid training course costs approximately $85 per person. We assume under the bill's requirements that each school would need to purchase first aid courses for multiple members of faculty; for the purposes of analysis, we assume the average school has 5 staff that would need training under the bill, generating a per-school cost of $425. We therefore estimate the total cost for all required equipment and training would be, on average, $1,925 per school. To the extent that a school may already possess some of the necessary equipment, or to the extent that fewer staff would require training, the actual cost for each public school may vary.
According to data published by ADE, in FY 2024 there were 536 public schools that taught any of grades 9-12. Our office assumes all such public schools also provide some athletic programming, as we lack any data on school athletic programs.
The bill includes a blank General Fund appropriation for ADE to distribute to qualifying public schools for the purchase of AEDs, CPR training kits, and nationally-recognized CPR/AED/first aid courses to faculty. The bill directs ADE to prioritize majority FRPL schools in awarding these grants. Assuming this appropriation is intended to cover the full cost of all public schools eligible for the ADE grant, the total General Fund cost could be up to $1,031,800 (536 schools x $1,925 average cost per school).
Local Government Impact
To the extent that the actual cost to equip all eligible public schools with the training and equipment required by the bill is greater than the amount appropriated by the bill, some otherwise eligible schools may not receive grant monies from ADE to fund the requirements of the bill. In that circumstance, we assume such schools would use their own resources to fund the requirements of the bill.
2/6/25