SB 25-191: Cardiac Emergency Plans for School Sports - Colorado

Revised (04/16/2025) → PA1 (03/20/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify definitions and add new requirements for Automated External Defibrillator (AED) placement and maintenance in schools. The revision adds a definition for 'Local Education Provider' and establishes specific deadlines for schools to comply with nationally recognized AED standards.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to include additional types of educational entities under the definition of 'Local Education Provider', including charter schools, cooperative service boards, facility schools, and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.

DEFINITION

Added a new definition for 'Local Education Provider' that includes school districts, charter schools, boards of cooperative services, facility schools, and Indian tribes or tribal organizations.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirements for both public and nonpublic schools to place and maintain AEDs in accordance with nationally recognized, evidence-based standards for emergency cardiovascular care.

TIMELINE

Established a compliance deadline of January 1, 2026, for schools that acquire or have acquired an AED to meet the new placement and maintenance standards.

TECHNICAL

Changed the bill's status from 'Revised' to 'Preamended' and updated the sponsor list formatting, indicating this is an unofficial version with committee amendments not yet adopted on second reading.

Rerevised (04/17/2025) → Revised (04/16/2025) · 6 edits

MODERATE

The bill text was updated from a 'Rerevised' version to a 'Revised' version, reflecting amendments adopted during the second reading in the Senate. The substantive content appears to define requirements for Automated External Defibrillator (AED) placement, maintenance, and immunity provisions for licensed physicians who review written AED plans. The changes primarily involve formatting and versioning updates rather than new policy provisions.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; this is a version update reflecting legislative process milestones.

TECHNICAL

Header changed from 'REREVISED' to 'REVISED' to indicate the bill version includes amendments adopted on second reading in the Second House.

House sponsorship list was shortened, removing individual names and replacing them with a placeholder format.

Reading status changed from '3rd Reading Unamended' to '2nd Reading' with updated date from April 17, 2025 to April 16, 2025.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'Automated External Defibrillator' and 'Licensed Physician' to clarify terms used in the AED placement and maintenance statute.

REQUIREMENT

Requirements for written AED plans were added, including placement, training, EMS coordination, medical oversight, maintenance, authorized personnel identification, and utilization reporting.

ENFORCEMENT

Limited immunity provisions were added for licensed physicians who review and approve written AED plans.

Final Act (04/25/2025) → Rerevised (04/17/2025) · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill modifies Colorado's AED (automated external defibrillator) laws by removing requirements for written plans to be reviewed and approved by a licensed physician, while adding new requirements for high schools to acquire and place AEDs at athletic venues. The changes simplify the regulatory burden on schools while expanding AED access for student athletes.

Scope change

The bill expands AED requirements specifically to public and nonpublic high school athletic programs, while removing certain physician approval requirements that previously applied to all AED placements.

REQUIREMENT

Eliminated the requirement that AED written plans must be reviewed and approved by a licensed physician

Removed the requirement that written plans must identify personnel authorized to use the AED

Added requirement for high schools to acquire AEDs by the 2026-27 school year

Added requirement for AED placement at high school athletic venues by the 2026-27 school year

TIMELINE

Changed AED placement timeline from January 1, 2026 to the start of the 2026-27 school year

Signed Act (05/05/2025) → Final Act (04/25/2025) · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill clarifies formatting and terminology in Colorado's AED emergency preparedness law, correcting section references and standardizing language around evidence-based standards for AED placement in schools. The changes ensure consistency between the bill text and the revised statute, particularly regarding which school officials are covered under limited immunity provisions.

Scope change

No substantive scope change; primarily formatting and terminology corrections to align the enacted text with the final statute.

TECHNICAL

Corrected section reference from 'subscction (4) SUBSECTION (4)(a) OF THIS SECTION' to 'subsection (4) SUBSECTION (4)(a) OF THIS SECTION' for clarity.

Added note about legislative status and signatures to clarify the bill's final state for public reference.

DEFINITION

Standardized AED definition formatting by removing unnecessary parentheses around subsection letters (changed '(f) (a)' to '(I) (a)' and '(it) (b)' to '(II) (b)').

REQUIREMENT

Corrected punctuation in AED placement standards by adding spaces around commas in 'RECOGNIZED , EVIDENCE - BASED STANDARDS' to match standard formatting.

Reengrossed (03/25/2025) → Signed Act (05/05/2025) · 4 edits · May 5, 2025

MODERATE

This bill was finalized into law after being signed into an act on May 5, 2025. The primary substantive change involves formatting and structural updates to the bill text, including the addition of proper signatures and certification lines from the Senate President and House Speaker. The core policy provisions regarding AED requirements in schools remain substantively unchanged from the reengrossed version.

Scope change

No substantive change to the bill's scope or applicability; the policy content regarding AED placement and maintenance in schools remains the same.

TECHNICAL

Added signature lines for the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House, along with certification markings indicating the bill was signed into law.

Added the official title page header and formatting consistent with a signed act rather than a reengrossed bill.

Removed the 'First Regular Session' and 'Seventy-fifth General Assembly' headers, as these are no longer needed once the bill is enacted.

Removed the bill summary and explanatory notes that were included in the reengrossed version but are not part of the final enacted law.

Engrossed (03/24/2025) → Reengrossed (03/25/2025) · 4 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to include additional co-sponsors and updated the header to reflect that all amendments have been adopted. The most significant substantive change involves the removal of specific requirements for schools to place and maintain Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) by January 1, 2026, which previously mandated compliance with nationally recognized evidence-based standards for emergency cardiovascular care. This deletion appears to eliminate the immediate deadline and specific maintenance requirements that were in the previous version.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding AED requirements in schools has been narrowed by removing the January 1, 2026 deadline and specific maintenance mandates that previously applied to both public and nonpublic schools acquiring AEDs.

TECHNICAL

Added additional co-sponsors to the Senate sponsorship list, expanding the bill's legislative support.

Changed the document header from 'ENGROSSED' to 'REENGROSSED' to reflect that all amendments have been adopted in the House of Introduction.

TIMELINE

Removed the January 1, 2026 deadline for schools to acquire or have acquired an AED.

REQUIREMENT

Deleted the requirement that public and nonpublic schools must place and maintain AEDs in accordance with nationally recognized evidence-based standards for emergency cardiovascular care.

Introduced (03/04/2025) → Engrossed (03/24/2025) · 4 edits · Mar 25, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was amended to clarify that AEDs must be placed and maintained according to nationally recognized emergency cardiovascular care standards, rather than just placement. The timeline for compliance was changed from the start of the 2026-27 school year to January 1, 2026, and the section title was updated to reflect that maintenance requirements are now included alongside placement.

Scope change

The bill now explicitly covers both the placement and ongoing maintenance of AEDs in schools, whereas the original version focused primarily on placement plans.

REQUIREMENT

Added explicit requirement for AED maintenance in addition to placement, requiring compliance with nationally recognized evidence-based standards for emergency cardiovascular care.

TIMELINE

Changed the compliance deadline from the start of the 2026-27 school year to January 1, 2026, providing a clearer and earlier deadline for schools to acquire and properly position AEDs.

DEFINITION

Updated the section title from 'Placement of automated external defibrillator' to 'Placement and maintenance of automated external defibrillator' to reflect the expanded scope of the law.

TECHNICAL

Minor formatting changes to the bill header and page numbering, along with removal of the original title reference to high school athletics requirements.

Cardiac Emergency Plans for School Sports

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