Newburyport student to testify on bill to make CPR a graduation requirement, senator says

Senator Bruce Tarr introduced Newburyport High School student Madeleine Jackman and said she will testify on a bill that would make cardiopulmonary resuscitation certification a high school graduation requirement in Massachusetts.

Tarr told the Senate that Jackman, accompanied by her parents and brother, survived a traumatic incident that a first responder helped resolve and that she had turned that experience into legislative action. He said Jackman would testify later in the session in support of a bill to require CPR certification for graduation and that representatives of the American Red Cross — Kelly Isenor, communications director for New England, and Kyle McWilliams Lopez — were present in the gallery to support the measure.

Tarr described the proposal as “particularly significant” and said he believed Massachusetts would be the last state to adopt a statewide graduation requirement for CPR if the bill succeeds. The transcript contains no text of the bill, bill number, or committee referral; it records only the senator’s introduction of the visitors and their presence on the floor.

What the record shows

• Visitor introduction: Senator Bruce Tarr introduced Madeleine Jackman and family members, and identified American Red Cross representatives present in support of the forthcoming testimony.

• Pending testimony: The transcript states Jackman will testify on a CPR graduation requirement “in a few minutes,” but the transcript does not contain her testimony or the bill text.

The transcript does not include debate on the measure, the bill number, fiscal notes, or any sponsor language.