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Montana House panel advances bill to require cardiac-response plans and fund AEDs in schools
Summary
The House Education Committee advanced House Bill 869, which would require schools to adopt cardiac emergency response plans, ensure AED access at athletic venues, and train staff in CPR and AED use; an amendment creates a reimbursement grant program covering up to $700 per AED and raises the appropriation to $240,000.
Vice Chair Melissa Romano told the House Education Committee that House Bill 869 is aimed at protecting student athletes from sudden cardiac arrest by requiring every school with athletic programs to adopt a cardiac emergency response plan, install accessible automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at venues and events, and maintain hands-on CPR, first-aid and AED training for staff and coaches. "This bill is not just about a policy. It's really about a life saving framework," Romano said.
Supporters — including Rob Watson of School Administrators of Montana, Jackie Simmons of the American Heart Association, and representatives of the Montana Athletic Trainers Association and MHSA — told the committee the bill aligns with existing high-school safety work and is particularly important in rural districts where emergency-response times are longer. "Minutes matter in a cardiac emergency," said Jackie Simmons, noting that early AED use can dramatically increase survival.
The amendment the committee adopted establishes a reimbursement grant program, with the state contributing up to $700 per AED and limiting OPI administrative costs to 5% of the appropriation. The sponsor said the amendment raises the appropriation from $150,000 to $240,000 and is intended to target independent K–8 and lower-resource schools that lack existing associations or infrastructure to adopt emergency plans.
Committee members pressed witnesses on details: the effective dates for plan development, whether AEDs must be registered with DPHHS (witnesses said only about 175 school AEDs are registered and likely many more exist unregistered), maintenance costs (estimates centered around $1,400 purchase price and $2,000–$2,500 over 10 years for maintenance), and how plans would cover off-campus practices such as cross-country training.
Romano said monitoring would largely fall to local school administrators and that OPI's role under the amendment is limited to administering the one-time grant program. The committee passed HB 869 with the amendment and advanced it to the House floor.
The next step is floor consideration and any further appropriations or implementation language that may be requested by OPI or appropriations staff.
