A week after debating the details of a bill that would have required CPR to be taught in high schools and be counted as a graduation requirement, opposing sides came to a compromise.

 

Representatives from the American Heart Association and South Dakota Department of Education collaborated to complete Senate Bill 145, which was passed by the Senate Health and Human Services committee on a 5-0 vote.

 

The latest version of SB 145 identifies CPR as a recommended skill that all schools should include within school health curriculum, recommends use of nationally recognized program for instruction and survey’s school districts about CPR instruction.

 

“Our goal…is to get young people exposed to (CPR training),” AHA Lobbyist Dean Krogman said, adding the graduation mandate in the original bill was the biggest concern for the opposition. There is no such mandate in the amended version of SB 145.

 

“This (amended bill) really addresses all of the concerns we had previously,” Secretary of Education Melody Schopp said.

 

Krogman said both sides agreed to go before the state Board of Education to discuss incorporating CPR training in the state’s health credit requirement.

 

SB 145 now moves to the Senate floor. ASBSD is monitoring the bill.

 

For updates on the bill, and other pieces of legislation, check the ASBSD Blog and Bill Tracker page.