An Act to Require Cardiac Emergency Response Plans and Athletic
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0587
Sponsors: RAFFERTY, DODGE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1001, 20-A MRSA §6304-A

Legislative Document
No. 587
S.P. 270
In Senate, February 25, 2025
An Act to Require Cardiac Emergency Response Plans and Athletic 
Emergency Action Plans for Schools and School-sponsored Athletic 
Events
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 19, 2025.  Referred to the Committee 
on Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator RAFFERTY of York.
Cosponsored by Representative DODGE of Belfast and
Representatives: MITCHELL of Cumberland, MURPHY of Scarborough, SARGENT of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §1001, sub-§16, as amended by PL 2023, c. 254, §1, is further 
amended to read:
16.  Comprehensive health and safety and emergency management plan.  Each 
school board shall annually approve a comprehensive health and safety and emergency 
management plan that meets nationally recognized practices and, is developed by the 
school unit administration working collaboratively with appropriate stakeholders and 
includes an athletic emergency action plan as described in section 6304-A, subsection 3.  
The approval of a comprehensive health and safety and emergency management plan under 
this subsection is public information.  At the request of any school board member or full-
time school employee, the school board shall form a steering committee composed of 
school employees, including a school employee designated by that employee's school as 
having oversight regarding school safety, school board members, parents and others.  A 
majority of the school employees must be chosen by the local representatives of the 
applicable bargaining unit if the school employees are covered by a collective bargaining 
agreement.  The steering committee shall regularly review and refine the comprehensive 
health and safety and emergency management plan.  The following information pertaining 
to a comprehensive health and safety and emergency management plan is public 
information:
A.  A description of the scope and purpose of the comprehensive health and safety and 
emergency management plan and the process used for developing and updating the 
plan;
B.  General information on auditing for safety and preparedness;
C.  Roles and responsibilities of school administrators, teachers and staff and the 
designated chain of command during an emergency; and
D.  Strategies for conveying information to parents and the general public during an 
emergency.
Except as provided in paragraphs A to D, release of the contents of a comprehensive health 
and safety and emergency management plan approved under this subsection is subject to 
the limitations set forth in Title 1, section 402, subsection 3, paragraph L.
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §6304-A is enacted to read:
§6304-A.  Cardiac emergency response plan; athletic emergency action plan
1.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, 
the following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Athletic emergency action plan" means written guidelines or templates for 
documentation of emergency planning to help prepare a person for a catastrophic injury 
situation in an athletic or sports setting.
B.  "Cardiac emergency response plan" means a written document that establishes 
specific steps to reduce incidents of death from sudden cardiac arrest or a similar 
life-threatening emergency.
C.  "Economically disadvantaged students" has the same meaning as in section 15672, 
subsection 3. 
2.  Cardiac emergency response plan in schools.  Beginning in the 2026-2027 school 
year, a school administrative unit must develop a cardiac emergency response plan in 
accordance with this subsection.
A.  A cardiac emergency response plan must address the appropriate use of school 
personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing sudden cardiac 
arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while on school grounds.
B.  A plan must require that school officials work directly with local emergency service 
providers to integrate a cardiac emergency response plan into the local community's 
emergency medical services protocol.
C.  A cardiac emergency response plan must integrate evidence-based core elements, 
such as those recommended by the American Heart Association or a nationally 
recognized heart health organization.  A cardiac emergency response plan must 
include, but is not limited to:
(1)  Establishment of a cardiac emergency response team;
(2)  Activation of the cardiac emergency response team in response to an incident 
of sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency on school grounds;
(3)  Placement of automated external defibrillators in occupied school buildings 
and the oversight of necessary routine maintenance;
(4)  Distribution of the cardiac emergency response plan to all school personnel;
(5)  Organization of ongoing personnel training on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 
use of automated external defibrillators and annual practice drills for each; and
(6)  A process for annual review and evaluation of the cardiac emergency response 
plan.
D.  A cardiac emergency response plan must specify the appropriate placement of 
automated external defibrillators in accordance with guidelines set by the American 
Heart Association or other nationally recognized heart health organization.  An 
automated external defibrillator must be identified with appropriate signage and be 
made available in an unlocked location on school property that enables a person to 
place the automated external defibrillator on an individual experiencing sudden cardiac 
arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency within 3 minutes.  
E.  A plan must require that coaches, school nurses and athletic trainers participate in 
the training organized pursuant to paragraph C, subparagraph 5.
3.  Athletic emergency action plan.  A comprehensive health and safety and 
emergency management plan approved pursuant to section 1001, subsection 16 must 
include an athletic emergency action plan based on recommendations from the American 
Heart Association or a nationally recognized heart health organization that address the 
appropriate, venue-specific use of school personnel to respond to an individual 
experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency while attending 
or participating in an athletic practice or event on school grounds.
4.  Automated external defibrillator in athletic venues.  In addition to the placement 
of automated external defibrillators pursuant to a cardiac emergency response plan pursuant 
to subsection 2, paragraph D, an automated external defibrillator must be placed in each 
athletic venue on school property in an unlocked location.  An automated external 
defibrillator in an athletic venue must be accessible during the school day and at any school-
sponsored athletic event or team practice in which students are participating.  An automated 
external defibrillator must be tested and maintained according to the manufacturer's 
operational guidelines. Notification must be provided to the appropriate first aid, 
ambulance, rescue service or other appropriate local emergency medical service providers 
of the location and type of automated external defibrillator acquired.
5.  Funding.  The department shall provide funding to school administrative units for 
the implementation of cardiac emergency response plans and athletic emergency action 
plans with funding priority given to schools in which at least 50% of the students are 
economically disadvantaged students.  
A school board may accept gifts, grants and donations, including in-kind donations 
designated for the purchase of an automated external defibrillator that meets the standards 
established by the United States Food and Drug Administration and for the costs of 
maintaining the automated external defibrillator and training school personnel on its use.
6.  Rulemaking.  The commissioner may adopt rules to implement this section and to 
develop a procedure for monitoring adherence to this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to 
this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A.
Sec. 3.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
School and Student Supports Z270
Initiative: Provides one-time funds to school administrative units to implement a cardiac 
emergency response plan. Funds may be used for activities and equipment such as the 
purchase and maintenance of automated external defibrillators, cardiopulmonary 
resuscitation training for faculty and personnel and basic first aid training and educational 
materials.
GENERAL FUND
2025-26
2026-27
All Other
$0
$1,800,000
__________
__________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$0
$1,800,000
SUMMARY
This bill requires school administrative units, beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, 
to develop cardiac emergency response plans, which must address the appropriate use of 
school personnel to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing sudden 
cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency on school grounds.  A cardiac 
emergency response plan must include the establishment of a cardiac emergency response 
team, the activation of the team in an incident of sudden cardiac arrest or a similar 
life-threatening emergency, placement of automated external defibrillators in school 
buildings, distribution of the plan to school personnel, organization of personnel training 
on cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators and 
annual practice drills of each and a process for annual review and evaluation of the plan.
The bill also requires that a school board approve an athletic emergency action plan 
that addresses the appropriate use of school personnel in response to an individual 
experiencing sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening emergency at a school-
sponsored athletic event and requires that each school athletic venue be equipped with an 
automated external defibrillator.  The bill requires the Department of Education to provide 
funding for the implementation of cardiac emergency response plans and athletic 
emergency action plans with priority to schools in which at least 50% of the students are 
economically disadvantaged.