This bill adds a new section to chapter 28A.210 RCW requiring each school district, to the extent state funding is appropriated, to develop a cardiac emergency response plan for each school and each athletic facility on a school campus. It also requires, if funded, that school officials work with local emergency service providers to integrate those plans into community emergency response protocols. The bill is identified as Substitute Senate Bill 6118 (S-4424.1), 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session. If a plan is developed, it must include evidence-based core elements (as recommended by the American Heart Association or a comparable organization) and must: designate a cardiac emergency response team of school staff; establish procedures to activate the team; designate AED locations with the goal of being able to place an AED on a person within three minutes of awareness of a cardiac arrest; set an AED maintenance schedule per the manufacturer; set a regular training schedule for CPR, first aid, and AED use consistent with AHA or comparable guidelines; require at least annual rehearsals and annual plan review by staff; describe coordination with local emergency providers; set procedures for school-sponsored off-campus incidents; ensure AEDs are clearly signed and stored unlocked and accessible during school days and school-sponsored athletic events; and, to the extent funded, require AED testing/maintenance and notification to local emergency providers of AED type and location. This is a new statutory provision creating procedural public-safety requirements for schools and districts (not a new crime or a penalty change). Many duties are expressly conditioned on state appropriation of funds. The extracted text does not specify appropriation amounts or timing, an effective date, whether plans must be submitted for approval or review by any state or local authority, enforcement or penalty mechanisms, or precise numerical intervals for “regular” training beyond the annual rehearsal and review requirements.

If enacted, school districts would need to create and keep current a school-by-school cardiac emergency response plan covering on-campus athletic facilities and school-sponsored off-campus events, assemble a designated staff response team, place and sign AEDs so someone can get one within about three minutes, maintain and test AEDs per manufacturers' guidance, run regular CPR/AED/first aid training for team members, and rehearse the plan at least once a year. The people most affected are school districts and individual schools (responsible for plans, trainings, AED placement and maintenance), school staff including coaches, nurses and trainers (who would be on response teams and train more regularly), and local emergency services (who must be involved in integrating plans and, if funded, be notified of AED locations); families and event attendees may see faster access to AEDs and trained responders at schools. Many of these duties are explicitly tied to state funding being provided, so districts could face new planning and coordination responsibilities without immediate statewide costs if the Legislature does not appropriate money; conversely, if funding is provided districts will likely see new costs for purchasing, placing, maintaining AEDs and for recurring staff training and rehearsals. Important details are missing from the bill text provided—there is no funding amount or timeline, no enforcement or reporting requirements, no effective date, and “regular” training frequency beyond annual rehearsals is undefined—so how quickly and uniformly schools will implement these changes is uncertain.