HB 2949 establishes the “Sudden Cardiac Arrest Screening Act” and adds a new section to Missouri law governing school athletics. The bill applies to public and private K-12 schools and to student athletes participating in interscholastic sports, school-sponsored athletic contests, cheerleading, practices, and scrimmages. It creates definitions for student athlete, athletic activity, qualified medical professional, MSHSAA, and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and sets out a statewide framework for cardiac-arrest prevention in school sports.
Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, the bill requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in coordination with the Department of Health and Senior Services and MSHSAA, to distribute evidence-based educational materials about sudden cardiac arrest to student athletes, parents or guardians, and coaches. Student athletes and a parent or guardian must sign an annual acknowledgment form before participation, and the form must be kept in the school’s online eligibility system. The bill also requires coaches to complete annual cardiac arrest training, and it bars them from coaching practices or competitions until the training is completed.
The bill further requires qualified medical professionals performing preparticipation physicals to include a cardiovascular prescreening based on nationally recognized, evidence-based guidelines. That screening must cover personal and family history, a focused physical exam, and referral to a cardiologist when findings are positive. The Department of Health and Senior Services must publish annual reports on the number of screenings and referrals, including outcome data such as follow-up and false positives where available. The bill also directs state licensing boards to support training and continuing education for medical professionals on cardiovascular risk assessment and referral procedures.
In terms of legal impact, HB 2949 would create a new statutory mandate for schools, coaches, parents, student athletes, and medical providers involved in school sports physicals and eligibility. It would expand administrative duties for state education and health agencies, require rulemaking by the Department, and tie athletic participation to compliance with new documentation and training requirements. The bill would also affect school board policies, MSHSAA eligibility processes, and the practices of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, athletic trainers, and cardiologists involved in sports clearance.
No committee transcript or recorded vote history was provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the materials supplied. Based on the bill text alone, the overall sentiment appears preventive and supportive of student safety, with a strong public-health focus on reducing sudden cardiac arrest risk in youth sports. Likely points of contention would include the added compliance burden on schools and coaches, the annual paperwork and training requirements, the cost and logistics of implementing prescreening and reporting, and whether the mandated screening approach is sufficiently evidence-based or too prescriptive for local school systems and medical providers.
HB 2949 would add section 160.484 to Missouri law and create a new statewide regulatory framework for sudden cardiac arrest prevention in K-12 athletics. It would impose annual education, acknowledgment, training, screening, reporting, and rulemaking requirements on schools, coaches, state agencies, and qualified medical professionals, while also affecting MSHSAA eligibility procedures and school health documentation practices.
No committee discussion or vote record was provided, so there is no documented legislative debate to summarize. The bill’s text reflects a generally favorable, safety-oriented approach aimed at preventing sudden cardiac arrest in student athletes, suggesting a public-health and youth-safety sentiment rather than a partisan or ideological one.
Because no hearing transcript or vote history is included, specific objections are not documented. Potential areas of contention suggested by the bill itself include the administrative and financial burden on schools and coaches, the requirement for annual acknowledgments and training, the feasibility of statewide screening and reporting, and the extent to which the state should mandate medical prescreening standards and continuing education for providers.