Senate Education Committee advances amended bill on AED access, preserves standards while removing immediate universal mandate

The Colorado Senate Education Committee advanced Senate Bill 191 as amended, preserving requirements that any AEDs held by public schools meet nationally recognized standards for placement, maintenance and public accessibility while removing the bill’s original mandate that all high school athletic events statewide (on- and off-campus) must have an AED immediately.

As introduced, SB191 would have required AEDs to be available and placed according to nationally recognized standards on school-owned properties beginning in the 2026–27 school year and at all locations where school athletics occur beginning in 2027–28. Sponsors told the committee the introduced bill aimed to protect young athletes from sudden cardiac arrest, which witnesses and sponsors described as the leading cause of death among young athletes.

Senator Paul Roberts (sponsor) told the committee that AEDs are life-saving devices but are “rendered useless if…