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35 CPR IN THE SCHOOLS-
From: Dennis D. Frisch
ECC Committee Chairman for CPR in Schools
To: All Training Centers
Subject: CPR Clarification and Options
December 2, 2010
At the November 18, 2010 Emergency Cardiovascular Care regional committee meeting held at Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames it was decided there was clarification needed on the “Healthy Kids Act” and some teaching options needed for the training institutions to pass on to the schools. The Iowa Administrative Code 12.5(20) of the “Healthy Kids Act” states the CPR course
completion requirement as follows: “Subject to the provisions of subrule 12.5(6), at any time prior to the end of twelfth grade, every pupil physically able to do so shall have completed a psychomotor course that leads to certification in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. A school or school district administrator may waive this requirement for any pupil who is not physically able to complete the course. A course that leads to certification in CPR may be taught during the school day by either a school or school district employee or by a volunteer, as long as the person is certified to teach a course that leads to certification in CPR. In addition, a school or school district shall accept
certification from any nationally recognized course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation as evidence that this requirement has been met by a pupil. A school or school district shall not accept auditing of a CPR course, or a course in infant CPR only. This subrule is effective for the graduating class of 2011 - 2012.”
The key to the law is the “leads to certification” part which means students only need to complete a psychomotor course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and do not have to be certified in CPR. Certification involves a cost and the law was written so there would not be a cost to the student. CPR classes taught at schools should be promoted with the intent that certification is optional. Students choosing to be certified may then be assessed a fee particularly to cover the cost of the CPR card. Students should also be told that they have 30 days after completing the
psychomotor course to complete the skills testing to become certified. If more than 30 days elapses they must repeat the course to become certified.
American Heart Association (AHA) courses that would not fulfill the “leads to certification” requirement would be:
“Family and Friends CPR Anytime” for adults and infants, Any course that teaches only infant CPR, and
On-line CPR courses.
Courses that would fulfill the “leads to certification” requirement include “Heartsaver CPR in Schools” , “Heartsaver CPR”, “Heartsaver AED”, “Heartsaver First Aid with CPR and AED”, and “BLS for Healthcare Providers”. A school nurse or a teacher in the school district certified to teach AHA CPR could teach an entire class of students regardless of number as long as each student had sufficient practice on the manikins. Students that opt for certification must successfully complete the CPR skills testing with a certified AHA CPR instructor when AHA materials are used to teach the
course. People that have been trained as “skills evaluators” cannot be used to test these students nor teach CPR classes. These evaluators are used only to test those individuals that have
completed an on-line CPR course. Students cannot meet the CPR requirement by auditing a CPR course as they must perform the psychomotor skills.
The following students may have this requirement waived by a school or school district administrator:
1. Students physically unable to complete the psychomotor course.
2. Students whose religious beliefs prohibit them from performing the psychomotor skills. 3. Students that produce satisfactory evidence, such as a CPR certificate from a nationally
recognized CPR course, that they successfully completed the course. If the student can not
provide satisfactory evidence of having completed a CPR course, the student should take another CPR course.
All CPR courses must be taught by a certified CPR instructor. Instructors from outside the school district may have to have a background check depending upon whether or not the school district has such a policy. The instructor may count these classes for retaining their instructor certification.
Although completion of this requirement is the 2011 - 2012 school year, each training center (TC) should inform their CPR instructors to contact the school districts in their area to determine what the schools are doing and what assistance they need to meet the requirement. Some options that may be suggested to school or school district administrators are to:
1. Have school districts partner with their local CPR instructors, EMS systems, or health systems.
2. Train school employees, such as school nurses, PE, health, and/or other interested teachers, as CPR instructors.
3. Trains highly motivated and select students as CPR instructors and use them to teach their peers.
4. Assist them in procuring equipment for classes or offer yours to be used.
5. Encourage CPR instructors needing to teach classes to maintain their instructor status to teach these students.
These are only a few options to assist schools with their task. School districts that have not taken steps to meet this requirement or are struggling to get it done are the ones we need to assist. The more school districts we contact and assist this year the less chance that our resources will become overwhelmed next year. Hopefully, this will clarify some questions you may have had concerning the “Healthy Kids Act” and give you some options to provide to your school or school district administrators.
37 Home Schooled Students
Eastern Iowa Area Task Force Members,
Someone asked about the CPR requirement for home schooled students. Dave Eyman received the same reply from Julie Naberhaus of NICHE which is an advocate group for home schooling students in Iowa and the Department of Education stating they are exempt from the CPR requirement in the Healthy Kids Act. You may pass this information to other CPR instructors that may be teaching CPR in the various school districts.