Lawmakers heard testimony from survivors, emergency personnel and student trainers urging Massachusetts to require hands‑only CPR and AED education in public schools, arguing the training is simple to teach and can substantially raise out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrest survival.

Survivor Rebecca Scott told the Joint Committee on Education that bystander CPR and an on‑site AED helped save her life after a sudden cardiac arrest while playing tennis. “Quick bystander CPR and defibrillation more than doubles the rate of survival,” Scott said. Her daughter, Abby Scott, who witnessed the arrest, described later learning CPR and saying training gave her confidence to act.

Why it matters: Massachusetts is one of the handful of states without a CPR‑in‑schools requirement, witnesses said. Emergency clinicians and trainers recommended short, scalable lesson plans and equipment grants so districts can run low‑cost certification or awareness sessions for students and staff.

What advocates want: Several bills heard would require instruction and provide grants to buy training manikins and AED trainers. Student programs that have taught hundreds of classmates reported strong uptake and municipal resolutions backing the approach. Medical and athletic professionals said the training could be a springboard into health careers while saving lives: “This is real world life‑saving education,” said Katie Stewart, a nurse practitioner with the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

Next steps: The committee took testimony on a cluster of bills (S447, S456, H556, H572, H750) proposing varied timelines and grant approaches; advocates urged a favorable report and recommended phased implementation and modest equipment grants to remove inequities across districts.