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Committee advances bill requiring CPR and AED training for middle- and high-school coaches
Summary
After emotional testimony from parents and coaches about on-field cardiac arrests, the Senate Education Policy Committee voted to move Senate File 3548 — requiring coach CPR/AED training and providing limited liability protection — to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
The Minnesota Senate Education Policy Committee on March 9 recommended Senate File 3548 to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety after sponsor remarks and emotional testimony from families and coaches.
Sponsor remarks explained that SF 3548 would require all middle- and high-school head coaches and assistant coaches employed by a school district or charter school to obtain initial CPR and AED training and to maintain training every two years thereafter. The bill instructs that training be consistent with national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines and includes civil liability protection for those who perform CPR or use an AED in the course of employment, except in cases of gross negligence.
Daniel, who identified himself as a registered nurse and the parent of a teen who collapsed at a Lakeville softball tournament on Aug. 30, 2025, recounted the incident and urged passage. "G is alive today because CPR was started immediately and because a fire truck happened to be down the street on lunch break," he said, describing that no athletic trainer or trained personnel were on hand at the event and that immediate bystander CPR and an AED shock restored a normal rhythm.
Coaches, state advocates and medical-community witnesses offered supporting testimony. Coach Rick Thomas described a similar on-field collapse and credited trained coaches with initiating compressions that helped save a life. Norm Oakhurst (Parent Heart Watch / Minnesota SCA Advocates) cited statistics and argued that immediate recognition and an AED increase survival exponentially.
Representatives of coaching organizations and the Minnesota State High School League said coaches want training but raised implementation questions — the potentially large number of volunteer and part-time coaches, logistics of delivering training, and whether the requirement could become an unfunded mandate despite free training options.
Committee members expressed broad support, noting prior legislation requiring cardiac emergency response plans and placement of AEDs on school grounds. The committee voice-voted to send SF 3548 to the Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety for further consideration.
