AB454 - Enacts a Smart Heart Law for public and private schools. (BDR 34-1029)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 454–Assemblymembers Nadeem; Dalia, D’Silva, Jackson, Karris, Nguyen and Orentlicher CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to education; requiring an emergency operations plan development committee for public and private schools to create a plan for responding to certain medical emergencies relating to the heart; authorizing the board of trustees of a school district, the governing body of a charter school or the governing body of a private school to include certain providers of health care as members of such a committee; requiring the governing body of a charter school to establish a plan for certain personnel to obtain training and certification in the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation; establishing requirements for certain training and certification for coaches, managers and athletic trainers; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district to establish a plan for teachers and other licensed educational personnel in the school district who teach or supervise pupils in physical education to obtain training and certification in the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. (NRS 391.092) Section 1.5 of this bill additionally requires the governing body of a charter school to establish such a plan. Section 1.4 of this bill makes a conforming change to indicate the applicability of that requirement to charter schools. Existing regulations require coaches of a school team participating in an interscholastic activity or event governed by the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association to be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and to complete certain training in administering first aid. (NAC 385B.798) Section 1.5 requires each coach, manager or athletic trainer in a school district or at a charter school who is not a pupil to obtain training and certification in the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Section 5 of this bill applies this requirement to each coach, manager or athletic trainer at a private school who is not a pupil. Existing law requires the board of trustees of each school district, the governing body of each charter school and the governing body of each private school to establish an emergency operations plan development committee to develop a plan for responding to certain emergencies in each school. (NRS 388.241, 388.243, 394.1685, 394.1687) Sections 1.3 and 8.7 of this bill require a plan developed by such a committee for a public school or private school, respectively, to include a plan for immediately responding to an emergency involving the heart, including, without limitation, a person in cardiac arrest. Sections 1 and 8.3 of this bill provide that the membership of such a committee at a public school or private school, respectively, may include a provider of health care who has specific skills, training and experience in responding to medical emergencies involving the heart. – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 388.241 is hereby amended to read as follows: 388.241 1. The board of trustees of each school district shall establish an emergency operations plan development committee to develop one plan, which constitutes the minimum requirements of a plan, to be used by all the public schools other than the charter schools in the school district in responding to a crisis, emergency or suicide and all other hazards. The governing body of each charter school shall establish an emergency operations plan development committee to develop a plan, which constitutes the minimum requirements of a plan, to be used by the charter school in responding to a crisis, emergency or suicide and all other hazards. 2. The membership of an emergency operations plan development committee must consist of: (a) At least one member of the board of trustees or of the governing body that established the committee; (b) At least one administrator of a school in the school district or of the charter school; (c) At least one licensed teacher of a school in the school district or of the charter school; (d) At least one employee of a school in the school district or of the charter school who is not a licensed teacher and who is not responsible for the administration of the school; (e) At least one parent or legal guardian of a pupil who is enrolled in a school in the school district or in the charter school and who is not an employee of the school district or charter school; (f) At least one representative of a local law enforcement agency in the county in which the school district or charter school is located; (g) At least one school police officer, including, without limitation, a chief of school police of the school district if the school district has school police officers; (h) At least one representative of a state or local organization for emergency management; (i) At least one representative of the county or district board of health in the county in which the school district or charter school is located, designated by the county or district board of health; and (j) At least one mental health professional, including, without limitation: – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) (1) A counselor of a school in the school district or of the charter school; (2) A psychologist of a school in the school district or of the charter school; or (3) A licensed social worker of a school in the school district or of the charter school. 3. The membership of an emergency operations plan development committee may also include any other person whom the board of trustees or the governing body deems appropriate, including, without limitation: (a) A pupil in grade 10 or higher of a school in the school district or a pupil in grade 10 or higher of the charter school if a school in the school district or the charter school includes grade 10 or higher; [and] (b) An attorney or judge who resides or works in the county in which the school district or charter school is located [.] ; and (c) A provider of health care who has specific skills, training and experience in responding to medical emergencies involving the heart. 4. The board of trustees of each school district and the governing body of each charter school shall determine the term of each member of the emergency operations plan development committee that it establishes. Each emergency operations plan development committee may adopt rules for its own management and government. 5. As used in this section, “provider of health care” means: (a) A physician or physician assistant licensed pursuant to chapter 630 or 633 of NRS; (b) A licensed nurse; or (c) A person who holds a license as an attendant or who is certified as an emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician or paramedic pursuant to chapter 450B of NRS or authorized to practice as an emergency medical technician, advanced emergency medical technician or paramedic in this State under the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact ratified by NRS 450B.145. Sec. 1.3. NRS 388.243 is hereby amended to read as follows: 388.243 1. Each emergency operations plan development committee established by the board of trustees of a school district shall develop one plan, which constitutes the minimum requirements of a plan, to be used by all the public schools other than the charter schools in the school district in responding to a crisis, emergency or – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) suicide and all other hazards. Each emergency operations plan development committee established by the governing body of a charter school shall develop a plan, which constitutes the minimum requirements of a plan, to be used by the charter school in responding to a crisis, emergency or suicide and all other hazards. Each emergency operations plan development committee shall, when developing the plan: (a) Consult with local social service agencies and local public safety agencies in the county in which its school district or charter school is located. (b) If the school district has an emergency manager designated pursuant to NRS 388.262, consult with the emergency manager. (c) If the school district has school resource officers, consult with the school resource officer or a person designated by him or her. (d) If the school district has school police officers, consult with the chief of school police of the school district or a person designated by him or her. (e) Consult with the director of the local organization for emergency management or, if there is no local organization for emergency management, with the Chief of the Division of Emergency Management of the Office of the Military or his or her designee. (f) Consult with the State Fire Marshal or his or her designee and a representative of a local government responsible for enforcement of the ordinances, codes or other regulations governing fire safety. (g) Determine which persons and organizations in the community, including, without limitation, a provider of mental health services which is operated by a state or local agency, that could be made available to assist pupils and staff in recovering from a crisis, emergency or suicide. 2. The plan developed pursuant to subsection 1 must include, without limitation: (a) The plans, procedures and information included in the model plan developed by the Department pursuant to NRS 388.253; (b) A procedure for responding to a crisis or an emergency and for responding during the period after a crisis or an emergency has concluded, including, without limitation, a crisis or an emergency that results in immediate physical harm to a pupil or employee of a school in the school district or the charter school; (c) A procedure for enforcing discipline within a school in the school district or the charter school and for obtaining and – 5 – - 83rd Session (2025) maintaining a safe and orderly environment during a crisis or an emergency; (d) The names of persons and organizations in the community, including, without limitation, a provider of mental health services which is operated by a state or local agency, that are available to provide counseling and other services to pupils and staff of the school to assist them in recovering from a crisis, emergency or suicide; (e) A plan for making the persons and organizations described in paragraph (d) available to pupils and staff after a crisis, emergency or suicide; (f) A procedure for responding to a crisis or an emergency that occurs during an extracurricular activity which takes place on school grounds; (g) A plan which includes strategies to assist pupils and staff at a school in recovering from a suicide; (h) A description of the organizational structure which ensures there is a clearly defined hierarchy of authority and responsibility used by the school for the purpose of responding to a crisis, emergency or suicide; (i) If the school district has school police officers, a plan to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to train school police officers in active assailant movement techniques; (j) A plan to coordinate with local law enforcement agencies or public safety organizations to provide active assailant trainings to each employee of the school; (k) A plan to provide support to: (1) Pupils who have experienced a crisis or emergency by using trauma-informed and age-appropriate resources; and (2) Members of the faculty and staff who have experienced a crisis or emergency by using trauma-informed resources; (l) A plan to ensure that members of the faculty and staff and a pupil’s parents or legal guardians are notified of the occurrence, development and conclusion of a crisis or an emergency through any communication method established by a school, including, without limitation, communicating through text message or electronic mail; [and] (m) A plan to inform, at least twice each academic year, a pupil’s parent or legal guardian of any state requirement related to the storage of firearms, including, without limitation, the crimes and penalties described in subsection 5 of NRS 202.300 and 202.3623 [.] ; and – 6 – - 83rd Session (2025) (n) A plan for immediately responding to a medical emergency involving the heart, including, without limitation, a person in cardiac arrest. 3. Each emergency operations plan development committee shall provide for review a copy of the plan that it develops pursuant to this section to the board of trustees of the school district that established the committee or the governing body of the charter school that established the committee. 4. The board of trustees of the school district that established the committee or the governing body of the charter school that established the committee shall submit for review to the Division of Emergency Management of the Office of the Military the plan developed pursuant to this section. 5. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 388.249 and 388.251, each public school must comply with the plan developed for it pursuant to this section. 6. As used in this section: (a) “Active assailant movement techniques” means any training in the technical and tactical skills necessary for school police officers to respond to a crisis or emergency concerning an active assailant. (b) “Active assailant training” means any training in responding to a crisis or emergency concerning an active assailant that is necessary to evacuate or secure the school. Sec. 1.4. NRS 389.021 is hereby amended to read as follows: 389.021 1. The State Board shall adopt regulations establishing courses of study and the grade levels for which the courses of study apply for: (a) The academic subjects set forth in NRS 389.018. A course of study in health prescribed pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 3 of NRS 389.018 must, for pupils enrolled in middle school, junior high school or high school, including, without limitation, pupils enrolled in those grade levels at a charter school, include instruction in: (1) The administration of hands-only or compression-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation, including a psychomotor skill-based component, according to the guidelines of the American Red Cross or American Heart Association; (2) The use of an automated external defibrillator; and (3 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]