The State Legislature has approved the Dominic Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act, to provide another layer of protection for student-athletes and their families.
The Dominic Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act and Commissioner’s regulation §136.9 take effect July 1. The Act requires:
- The Commissioner of Health to develop information, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Education, relating to pupils exhibiting signs or symptoms of pending or increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest and directs the Commissioner of Education to post the information on the Department’s website;
- All schools must include such information in any permission form, consent form, or similar document that may be required for a student’s participation in interscholastic athletics or reference how to obtain such information from the Department and Department of Health’s websites, or on the school’s website, if one exists;
- Any student displaying signs or symptoms of pending or increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest shall be immediately removed from athletic activities, and shall not resume athletic activity until he or she has been evaluated by and received written and signed authorization from a licensed physician; and retain the authorization on file in the student’s permanent health record.
To meet these requirements the Department has developed a memo to schools in collaboration with the Department of Health to provide the required information on sudden cardiac arrest. Additionally the Interval Health History for Athletics has been revised to elicit questions on cardiac health and history, along with a parent/guardian memo (attached) to explain the law and the importance of the health history form. All of these are also available on the NYSED Health Services webpage .
For questions please contact the Office of Student Support Services studentsupportservices@nysed.gov or 518-486-6090.