Bill requiring AEDs at schools and school sporting events passes Pa. House committee
The exterior of the Pennsylvania state Capitol. (Photo by Amanda Mustard for the Pennsylvania Capital-Star).
A bill that would require automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be present at school and school sporting events passed the House Education Committee with bipartisan support Wednesday.
State Rep. Tim Brennan (D-Bucks), who sponsored House Bill 191, said the legislature owes it to our kids 'to be prepared to save their lives when something happens on their playing fields.'
'This serves a purpose,' Brennan said. 'This is a valuable life saving tool that we should have in our schools.'
Brennan said that over 20 states already have similar laws in place and said statistics prove the effectiveness of AEDs in the event of a cardiac arrest. He said 90% of cardiac arrests are fatal when they occur outside of a hospital, but if an AED is used within a minute, survival rate can jump up to 90%.
This proposal amending the school code also requires one individual certified in CPR present, as well.
Brennan also referenced the cardiac arrest of then-24 year old Damar Hamlin, an Allegheny County native and player for the Buffalo Bills, in 2023 who was saved by CPR and the use of an AED on the field during an NFL game on Monday Night Football.
State Rep. Tarah Probst (D-Monroe), cited the death of Greg Moyer, a high school student who died in 2000 from sudden cardiac arrest at the age of 15, during a basketball game at East Stroudsburg North High School. She said it can take a long time for an ambulance to arrive in rural areas. Moyer's family has been advocating for AEDs in schools and school sporting events.
AEDs were also at the center of another bill earlier this week. House Bill 193, which will require AEDs in every state building, passed the full House on Monday.
Cursive mandate passes unanimously
The committee also unanimously voted to advance a proposal to require cursive handwriting to be taught in schools, at the appropriate grade level.
'In our digital world, cursive has fallen by the wayside, but there are many reasons for students to, at least, get the basic grasp of cursive writing,' State Rep. Dane Watro (R-Schuylkill), sponsor of House Bill 17 said Wednesday. 'In addition, students need cursive to read historical documents. A growing cursive illiteracy poses a threat to accessing and comprehending key historical sources, such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.'
A co-sponsorship memo mentions that at least 24 states have laws on the books requiring cursive to be taught.
Both chairs of the committee also offered words of support before the vote was held.
'Obviously there are both cognitive and developmental skills I think that are learned through cursive but more importantly, I think it's important that we understand the foundations of our historical and our founding documents, which this bill would obviously do,' House Education Minority Chairperson Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said.
State Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), who is the chairperson of the committee, referenced knowing cursive from his 12 years of Catholic school education and said he looked at it from a slightly different perspective, while detailing a personal experience before voting to approve the bill.
'I have an 18-year-old who, a couple years ago, got her first bank account, and watching her try to endorse her first paycheck was quite the interesting experience on a human level,' Schweyer said. 'I just think that a part of education is actually teaching human skills, not knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but actually preparing people for real life. And this is perfectly reasonable and a smart way to go about it.'
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