AN ACT TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY ENACTING THE "SMART HEART ACT" BY ADDING SECTION 59-17-165 SO AS TO PROVIDE DEFINITIONS AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A CARDIAC EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN IN EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 59-17-155, RELATING TO THE AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR PROGRAM IN HIGH SCHOOLS, SO AS TO PROVIDE EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL SHALL ENSURE THE PRESENCE OF AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR ONSITE AND WITHIN CERTAIN PROXIMITY OF SCHOOL ATHLETIC VENUES, AND TO PROVIDE RELATED TESTING, MAINTENANCE, AND PERSONNEL TRAINING REQUIREMENTS.
H3831, the “Smart Heart Act,” requires every public school district and charter school in South Carolina to develop a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) for responding to sudden cardiac arrest and similar life-threatening emergencies on school grounds. The bill directs the State Board of Education to set standards for those plans and requires them to include a school-level response team, activation procedures, AED placement and maintenance, staff CPR/AED training, drills, coordination with local medical resources, and annual review. It also extends the planning requirement to school-sponsored athletic practices and events, and allows an existing athletics catastrophic-injury plan to satisfy the CERP requirement if it meets or exceeds the bill’s standards.
The bill also expands and strengthens AED requirements. It amends existing law so that each public school, including charter schools, must ensure an AED is accessible at on-campus athletic venues and at off-site athletic events, with exceptions when an EMS provider, athletic trainer, school nurse, or coach equipped with an AED is present. It requires testing, maintenance, signage, notification to emergency responders, and training for athletics coaches in CPR, first aid, and AED use. The bill further requires private schools or private institutions that compete against public schools in applicable sports to comply for those teams or sports, and it authorizes the State Department of Education to seek public, private, and federal funding support while the Department adopts implementing regulations.
The bill’s legal impact is to create a new statewide school cardiac emergency framework in Title 59 and broaden the existing high-school AED program to all public schools and school athletic settings. It also adds liability protections for schools, districts, charter entities, employees, volunteers, and others who develop, implement, or act under a CERP or use an AED in good faith, while preserving liability for gross negligence or reckless conduct. The act is funded only subject to appropriations or agency funding, and it takes effect July 1, 2026, with application beginning in the 2027-2028 school year.
Overall sentiment around the bill appears strongly positive and bipartisan. The House passed the bill 107-0, the Senate gave it second reading 40-0, and the House later concurred in Senate amendments 112-0, indicating broad support with no recorded opposition in the votes provided. The lack of committee transcript material limits insight into detailed debate, but the unanimous votes suggest the bill was viewed as a public-safety measure rather than a controversial policy change.
The main points of contention, insofar as they are reflected in the text, are practical rather than ideological. The bill repeatedly makes its requirements subject to funding, which suggests concern about implementation costs for AEDs, training, maintenance, and compliance across all schools and athletic venues. Another possible issue is the scope of the mandate, including off-site athletic events and private schools competing against public schools, as well as the extent of immunity protections and the State Board’s authority to set standards. No recorded opposition appears in the available voting history.
The bill adds Section 59-17-165 to the South Carolina Code to create mandatory cardiac emergency response planning requirements for public schools and charter schools, and it amends Section 59-17-155 to expand AED access, training, maintenance, and operational requirements beyond high schools to all public schools in athletic settings. It also imposes related compliance obligations on certain private schools and private athletic programs that compete against public schools. The act authorizes the State Board of Education and the Department of Education to promulgate rules and standards, and it provides immunity from civil and criminal liability for covered actors except in cases of gross negligence or reckless conduct.
The bill appears to have enjoyed very strong bipartisan support throughout the legislative process. It passed the House 107-0, passed Senate second reading 40-0, and the House concurred in Senate amendments 112-0. That unanimous voting pattern indicates broad agreement that the measure addresses an important school safety and emergency preparedness issue.
No explicit committee debate or recorded opposition is available in the provided materials, so there is little evidence of substantive controversy. The most likely areas of concern are implementation costs, because the bill makes many duties contingent on funding by the General Assembly or the Department of Education, and administrative burden, because schools must develop plans, train staff, maintain AEDs, and coordinate with emergency services. The inclusion of private schools in certain athletic contexts and the scope of liability protections could also be points of discussion, but no specific objections are documented here.