HB 1607 addresses cardiac emergencies in Florida schools. It amends existing law to require school districts to provide basic first aid training, including CPR, to students in specified grades, rather than merely encouraging such instruction. The bill also creates a new section of law requiring each public school to develop a Plan for Urgent Life-Saving Emergencies (PULSE) to guide responses to sudden cardiac arrest and similar life-threatening events on school grounds.
The bill further requires every public school, including charter schools, to have at least one operational automated external defibrillator (AED) on campus by July 1, 2027. Schools must place AEDs in clearly marked and publicized locations, maintain them according to manufacturer recommendations, keep verification records, and register AED locations with local emergency medical services medical directors. It also requires appropriate school staff to be trained in first aid, CPR, and AED use, and directs the State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement the new requirements.
HB 1607 changes Florida education and emergency-response law by imposing new statewide duties on public schools and school districts related to cardiac preparedness. It strengthens student CPR/first-aid instruction requirements, mandates school emergency planning for cardiac events, and adds AED placement, maintenance, registration, and staff training obligations. The bill also clarifies that compliance with existing AED-related law does not by itself satisfy the new school-ground AED requirements, and it provides liability protections for school employees and volunteers under the Good Samaritan Act and the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act when defibrillators are used.
The available legislative record suggests broad support for the bill’s public-safety goals, with no recorded votes or committee transcript indicating organized opposition. The measure’s focus on preventing deaths from sudden cardiac arrest in schools is likely to have been viewed favorably as a student safety and emergency preparedness initiative. The bill was enacted and chaptered as Chapter No. 2025-67, indicating successful passage through the legislative process.
Because no committee transcripts or vote details are provided, there is little direct evidence of controversy in the record. The most likely points of discussion would be the cost and logistics of purchasing, maintaining, and registering AEDs, training staff, and implementing PULSE plans across all public and charter schools. Another possible area of concern is the mandate for school districts to provide CPR/first-aid training to specific grade levels, which may require instructional time, equipment, and coordination with outside providers. The bill’s liability provisions and the relationship between the new AED requirements and existing school AED laws may also have been examined, but no explicit opposition is shown in the available materials.