Finance committee backs resolution urging Massachusetts require CPR, AED training for high school graduation

The Brockton Finance Committee on May 5 recommended favorably that the City Council go on record supporting five pending state bills that would require Hands‑Only CPR and AED training for high‑school students in Massachusetts.

The committee voted to send a copy of the committee’s policy order and citation to the Brockton delegation at the State House. The resolution asks that Brockton endorse Senate Bill 447, Senate Bill 456, House Bill 556, House Bill 572 and House Bill 750 — measures in both branches that, as drafted, would make CPR and AED instruction part of high‑school instruction or graduation requirements in different forms.

Why it matters: Public testimony and the resolution framed the proposal as a low‑cost, high‑impact public‑safety measure. Harvard students who have organized a peer‑training program asked the committee to press state lawmakers to schedule hearings and adopt a statewide requirement. Nyan Sapers, identified as a Harvard junior and co‑founder of the CPR Ambassador program, told the committee that out‑of‑hospital cardiac arrests are common — she cited national figures and said bystander CPR can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival — and described her program’s work training student ambassadors to teach peers. Other student witnesses, including Nurildin Ibrahim and Meredith Schwartz of Crimson EMS, described community training experience and urged the committee to support the resolution.

What proponents proposed: The students recommended short, low‑barrier sessions — 30 to 45 minutes incorporated into assemblies, health classes or PE — and inexpensive equipment: single inflatable mannequins cost roughly $40 each; durable multi‑mannequin sets run about $2,000 and can last a decade. Speakers noted that two of the five bills create grant programs to ensure schools with limited budgets can participate.

Committee action: After public testimony and brief discussion, a motion to recommend the resolution favorably was made, seconded and approved by voice vote. The committee recorded the outcome as “recommended favorably” and asked the city clerk to forward a suitably engrossed copy of the order to Brockton’s State House delegation.

Background and next steps: The order lists the specific bills by number and asks the clerk to forward the committee’s endorsement to Brockton’s delegation. Committee members asked speakers to follow up with the State House when a hearing date is scheduled and councilors said they would contact state legislators to urge timely scheduling. The committee also discussed implementation details advocated by proponents — short class time, low‑cost mannequins, peer instruction and grant aid — and encouraged proponents to deliver additional technical details to city and state staff as hearings are scheduled.