Safety Plans to Include Cardiac Emergency Response Plan

On July 24, 2025, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law known as Desha's Law, named after a student who died from cardiac arrest during a school basketball game.

Desha’s Law requires that all New York State public schools, including BOCES and charter schools, develop a cardiac emergency response plan to be incorporated into their school safety plan. The district-wide school safety plan, with a cardiac emergency response plan, must be in place by January 20, 2026. The law also requires that, effective September 1, 2025, all building-level emergency response plans include policies and procedures for responding to sudden cardiac arrest.

Acknowledging that many school districts had submitted safety plans to NYSED prior to the effective date of Desha’s Law, recent NYSED guidance indicates that building level plans will be deemed “unsubmitted,” with the requirement that the amended plan be submitted on or before October 1, 2025. District-wide safety plans will need to be amended in accordance with Desha’s Law, posted for public comment for 30 days, and subject to at least one public hearing before being submitted (or re-submitted) to NYSED by January 20, 2026.

The cardiac emergency response plan must include venue specific procedures for responding to sudden cardiac arrest, or similar life-threatening emergency, on any school site or at any location of a school event, including but not limited to athletics. It must specify the use of appropriate personnel to respond to any such emergency and must integrate nationally recognized, evidence-based core elements, such as those recommended by the American Heart Association. School officials must consider how to best integrate their cardiac emergency response plan into their community Emergency Medical Service responder protocols.

Annual safety training for school staff must now include a component on recognizing and responding to sudden cardiac arrest, in addition to components regarding violence prevention and mental health. New employees hired after the start of the school year should receive such training within 30 days of hiring if they did not receive it as part of the district’s new hire training program or annual safety training. The district-wide safety team may provide voluntary training to relevant staff regarding sudden cardiac arrest, including CPR, use of an AED, and first aid.

Defibrillators, which must be provided and maintained on site, must be clearly marked, accessible, and maintained in a manner consistent with guidelines set by the American Heart Association or other nationally recognized guidelines focused on emergency cardiovascular care. Relevant American Heart Association resources can be found at https://cor.heart.org/en/training-programs/aed-implementation

If you have any questions regarding compliance with this new law, please contact us for assistance.