Measure to Provide Added Protection to Oklahoma Students Clears Senate Floor

A measure to ensure the safety of Oklahoma’s children received approval from the Senate today. Senate Bill 618, authored by Mary Easley, creates the “Dustin Rhodes CPR Training Act,” which would require two employees at every school to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction each year.

The Democrat from South Tulsa authored the legislation following the tragic death of Dustin Rhodes in the school cafeteria. The boy started choking on a piece of bread, and while teachers and staff tried to help the child; they were not properly trained in CPR.

“I believe SB 618 could prevent another tragedy like this from happening in our schools,” stated Sen. Easley. “We are currently working with the American Red Cross as well as the American Heart Association to obtain teaching materials and training courses. CPR is a skill that can save lives, and those that are charged with the care of our children should receive this vital training.”

Under provisions of SB 618 each school district board of education will be required to have a minimum of one certified teacher and one non-certified staff member at each school receive CPR training and update this training every two years, when the CPR certificate expires. School districts may use state funds allocated to them for professional development to pay for or reimburse teachers and support personnel for training in the administration of first aid and techniques of CPR, which will be offered on a yearly basis.

“It is not my intent to place an unfunded mandate on Oklahoma’s school districts. I want not only to ensure the safety of our children by having two trained personnel in CPR, but I also want to guarantee that this is an achievable goal for our school districts. I will work to provide that SB 618 receives the proper funding so that we do not have a similar tragedy in Oklahoma’s schools,” said Easley.

The title has been stricken from SB 618 and will now be heard in the respective House of Representatives committee.