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Committee backs bill requiring schools to have cardiac emergency response plans
Summary
Senators advanced SB 244 to require each Utah school to adopt a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) after testimony from nurses and first responders who credited AEDs and CPR with saving lives; the committee recommended the bill 3–1.
Senator Stevenson told the committee that more than 23,000 youth experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually and that survival decreases by roughly 10% each minute without intervention. "Our schools are really the nucleus of our communities," he said, introducing SB 244 to require each school to establish a cardiac emergency response plan tailored to its circumstances.
Multiple witnesses offered firsthand testimony about the life-saving role of AEDs and timely CPR. Kim Lo, school nurse supervisor for Alpine School District and chair of the Utah School Nurses Association advocacy committee, recounted an October 23, 2025 incident in which a crossing guard suffered cardiac arrest and said the quick use of an on-site AED and trained staff preserved the individual's life. "Because of Jill's decisive action and because there is an AED available in her school, this crossing guard has made a full recovery," Lo said.
Shay Johnson, an ICU nurse and CPR instructor, and Amy Mitchell, a retired Washington County school administrator who survived a sudden cardiac arrest, both urged the committee to pass the bill. Senator Reby moved a favorable recommendation. During the vote the chair recorded a 3–1 outcome with Senator Filmore recorded in opposition; the bill was advanced to the full body with a favorable recommendation.
