In June 2015, LD 556 was passed which amended Maine DOE statute Sec. 20-A MRSA § 6304, An Act To Require Public Schools To Offer Instruction Related to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and the Use of an Automated External Defibrillator. The new law states, “In accordance with rules adopted by the department, public schools shall offer training to students on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use automated external defibrillators.”
The Department will begin the rulemaking process shortly. Once the rules are adopted, Maine DOE will issue an Administrative Letter and offer a summary in the Commissioner’s Weekly Update.
For clarification, this amended law does not require all students to receive CPR/AED training for graduation. It does state, “…public schools shall offer training to students on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use automated external defibrillators.”
This may be accomplished in one of several ways including part of the health education curriculum, an afterschool or community training, through scouts or 4H, as an independent study or assignment using the online training video/course from American Heart Association or the Red Cross, etc. This will all be spelled out in the rules. If you have any further questions, contact susan.berry@maine.gov.