Requirement Breakdown
- Graduation requirement effective as of the 2013-2014 school year.
- It is up to the Department of Education to set guidelines for age/grade (9-12th) and course in which students will take CPR. *See document link below
- School districts must provide one time cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automatic external defibrillator (AED) instruction in a class of their choosing.
- CPR education does not need to cover all victim sizes (adult/child/infant) but does require a hands-on component to training
Excerpts from Bill
“The course shall be established in accordance with the requirements and criteria obtained from the Red Cross and/or the American Heart Association, and the director of the department of health.
The department of elementary and secondary education shall promulgate course guidelines including the age or grade level of pupils required to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training. This shall at a minimum include psychomotor skill-based cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and an overview of automated external defibrillator (AED) use for all high school students prior to graduation. “Psychomotor skill” is defined as the use of hands-on practicing to support cognitive learning. Cognitive-only training does not qualify. Formal certification is not required.”
[Full bill]
Excerpts from State Board of Education
- Students do not need to earn a CPR or AED certification.
- Schools are not required to purchase an AED.
- The “Minimum Standard” Required by Law: Although practice is ideally performed on purpose built CPR manikins, compressions can be performed on objects such as a soft soccer ball or volleyball to ensure the correct rhythm if manikins are not accessible. Every student should be given an opportunity to practice compressions for several minutes. The overarching goal is to teach students to recognize an emergency, dial 9-1-1, and push hard and fast in the middle of the chest until help arrives. For the AED overview, teachers can simply show a picture of an AED and explain its function and ease of use. If the school has an AED, the teacher should show the actual device and discuss the location of devices on school grounds. The entire hands-only training and AED overview can be accomplished in just one course period over the 4 years of high school.
- The “Gold Standard” for CPR and AED training remains certification for all students. Certification takes 3-4 hours and there is a cost associated. Schools that would like to enhance the learning experience by offering certification are encouraged to do so.
[Full text]
Student CPR Programs that Meet This Requirement
Training programs that qualify for the State of Rhode Island's Legislation Requirements*: |
 |
|
|---|---|---|
| Supplies Needed | Adult Manikin, AED Picture | Adult & Infant Manikin, AED Trainer |
| Initial Evaluator Training Time | 20-30 minutes | 4-5 hours |
| Online Course Time | 1 hour training, 20 minute test | 1 hour training, 20 minute test |
| Hands-On Time (per group) | 5-10 minutes | 20-25 minutes |
| Certification Level | No certification | 2-year Community CPR Certification |
| Cost for Students & Evaluators | FREE | FREE |