Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 005 - DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Division 01 - Division of Fiscal and Administrative Services
Rule 005.01.08-003 - ADE 292: Rules Governing the Requirement of Schools to Have Automated External Difibrillators

1.01 This rule shall be known as the Arkansas Department of Education Rules Governing the Requirement of Schools to Have Automated External Defibrillators.

1.02 This rule is promulgated pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 6-11-105, 6-15-207, 25-15-201 et seq., 20-13-1301 -1305 and 6-10-122.

2.01 The purpose of this rule is to require schools to have Automated External Defibrillators if funds are available as required by 5.01.

3.01 "Automated External Defibrillator" - A device that is used to administer an electric shock through the chest wall to the heart; has built in computers within the device to assess the patient's heart rhythm, judge whether defibrillation is needed, and then administer the shock; has audible or visual prompts, or both, to guide the user through the process; has received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration of its premarket modification, filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 360(k); is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of ventricular fibrillation and rapid ventricular tachycardia and is capable of determining without intervention by an operator whether defibrillation should be performed; and upon determining that defibrillation should be performed, either automatically charges and delivers an electrical impulse to an individual's heart or charges and delivers an electrical impulse at the command of the operator.

3.02 "Cardiac arrest" means a condition, often sudden, that is due to abnormal heart rhythms called arrhythmias. It is generally the result of some underlying heart disease.

3.03 "CPR" means a combination of rescue breathing and chest compressions and external cardiac massage used to sustain a person's life until advanced assistance arrives.

3.04 "Defibrillation" means administering an electrical impulse to an individual's heart in order to stop ventricular fibrillation or rapid ventricular tachycardia.

3.05 "Ventricular fibrillation" means the most common arrhythmia that causes cardiac arrest. It is a condition in which the heart's electrical impulses suddenly become chaotic; often without warning, causing the heart's pumping action to stop abruptly.

4.01 Schools are required to have an automated external defibrillator if funds are available as required by 5.01.

4.02 Schools that acquire an automated external defibrillator must ensure that expected automated external defibrillator users complete appropriate knowledge and skills courses at least once every two (2) years in CPR and automated external defibrillator use based upon current American Heart Association scientific guidelines, standards, and recommendations for providing CPR and the use of automated external defibrillators as published in American Heart Association, American Red Cross, or equivalent course materials.

4.03 Schools that acquire an automated external defibrillator must ensure that the defibrillator is maintained and tested according to the manufacturer's operational guidelines and instructions.

4.04 Any person who renders emergency care or treatment on a person in cardiac arrest by using an automated external defibrillator activates the emergency medical services system as soon as possible and immediately reports any clinical use of the automated external defibrillator to the medical provider responding to the emergency.

4.05 Schools that acquire an automated external defibrillator must notify an agent of emergency communications, 911, or vehicle dispatch center of the existence, location, and type of automated external defibrillator.

4.06 Pursuant to Ark Code Ann. § 20-13-1305(a), any person who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency care or treatment using an automated external defibrillator is immune from civil liability for any personal injury as a result of the care or treatment or as a result of any act or failure to act in providing or arranging further medical treatment, if the person acts as an ordinary, reasonably prudent person would have acted under the same or similar circumstances.

5.01 Districts are required to comply with these Rules to the extent that appropriations have been made by the General Assembly to cover the expenditures required by the districts to purchase automated external defibrillators.