An Act To Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1051
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: DUCHESNE, GUERIN, HIGGINS, HUBBELL

Legislative Document
No. 1051
H.P. 734
House of Representatives, March 16, 2017
An Act To Prevent Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DUCHESNE of Hudson.
Cosponsored by Representatives: GUERIN of Glenburn, HIGGINS of Dover-Foxcroft, 
HUBBELL of Bar Harbor.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA c. 223, sub-c. 10 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 10 
SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST PREVENTION ACT 
§6671.  Short title 
This subchapter may be known and cited as "the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention 
Act." 
§6672.  Definitions 
As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following 
terms have the following meanings. 
1.  Athletic activity.  "Athletic activity" means an activity taking place in the 
presence of or under the supervision of an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer and 
includes: 
A.  Interscholastic athletics; 
B.  An athletic contest or competition, other than interscholastic athletics, that is 
sponsored by or associated with a school, including cheerleading, club-sponsored 
sports activities and sports activities sponsored by school-affiliated organizations; 
C.  Noncompetitive cheerleading that is sponsored by or associated with a school; 
and 
D.  Practices, interschool practices and scrimmages for all of the activities listed 
under paragraphs A to C. 
§6673.  Sudden cardiac arrest 
1.  Educational materials.  The Department of Education shall develop and post on 
its publicly accessible website guidelines and other relevant materials to inform and 
educate students participating in or desiring to participate in an athletic activity, their 
parents and their coaches about the nature and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest, 
including the risks associated with continuing to play or practice after experiencing the 
following symptoms: fainting or seizures during exercise, unexplained shortness of 
breath, chest pains, dizziness, racing heart rate and extreme fatigue. 
2.  Receipt and review.  A student participating in or desiring to participate in an 
athletic activity and the student's parent or guardian shall, each school year and prior to 
participation by the student in an athletic activity, sign and return to the student's school 
an acknowledgment of receipt and review of the sudden cardiac arrest symptoms 
informational and educational guidelines under subsection 1. 
3.  Removal from participation.  An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer: 
A.  Shall remove from participation at that time a student who loses consciousness 
while participating in or immediately following an athletic activity or who is known 
to have lost consciousness while participating in or immediately following an athletic 
activity; 
B.  May remove a student who exhibits any of the symptoms described in subsection 
during an athletic activity from participation if the athletic director, coach or 
athletic trainer reasonably believes that the symptoms are cardiac-related; and 
C.  Shall notify the parents of a student who has been removed from participation 
under paragraph A or B. 
A student who is removed from participation under paragraph A or B may not return to 
participation in an athletic activity until the student is evaluated and cleared for return to 
participation in writing by an appropriate medical professional. 
4.  Training course.  This subsection governs the training of athletic directors, 
coaches and athletic trainers in the subject of sudden cardiac arrest. 
A.  Once each school year, an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer shall 
complete a sudden cardiac arrest training course provided by a 3rd party approved by 
the department. 
B.  An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer is not eligible to coach or supervise 
an athletic activity until completion of the training course required under this 
subsection. 
5.  Penalties.  A school board that finds an athletic director, coach or athletic trainer 
to have violated subsection 4 shall impose the following penalties: 
A.  For a first violation, suspension from coaching or supervising any athletic activity 
for the remainder of the season; 
B.  For a 2nd violation, suspension from coaching or supervising any athletic activity 
for the remainder of the season and for the next season; and 
C.  For a 3rd violation, permanent suspension from coaching or supervising any 
athletic activity. 
6.  Civil liability.  An athletic director, coach or athletic trainer is not subject to civil 
liability for a violation of this subchapter unless the athletic director, coach or athletic 
trainer is found to have been grossly negligent or reckless. 
SUMMARY 
This bill enacts the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act, which provides for 
education regarding sudden cardiac arrest in students engaged in athletics, the removal 
from athletic events of students who exhibit symptoms of cardiac arrest, education and 
training for athletic directors, coaches and athletic trainers and penalties for violations of 
the Act.