Sponsored by:
Senator BRITNEE N. TIMBERLAKE
District 34 (Essex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires youth sports team coaches to undergo cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other first aid training.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning youth sports team coaches and supplementing Title 5 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. A person shall not serve as a coach of a youth sports team unless the person possesses a certificate issued by the Commissioner of Health pursuant to subsection b. of this section.
b. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), setting forth certification requirements necessary to serve as a coach of a youth sports team, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, which shall include, but not be limited to, first aid training and instruction in the administration of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The commissioner shall provide for the issuance of a certificate to a person who possesses or acquires the training required pursuant to subsection a. of this section.
c. For the purposes of this section, "youth sports team" means a sports team organized or performing pursuant to a nonprofit or similar charter or which is a member team in a league organized by or affiliated with a county or municipal recreation department, for which enrollment is limited to juveniles under the age of 18.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, except that the Commissioner of Health may take any anticipatory administrative action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill provides that youth sports team coaches are required to be trained in the administration of cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and other first aid measures.
Under the bill, a person would
not be permitted to serve as a coach of a youth sports team unless the person
is certified by the Commissioner of Health as having received the required
training and instruction. The bill requires the commissioner to promulgate
rules and regulations setting forth certification requirements necessary to
serve as a coach of a youth sports team, which are to include, but not be
limited to, first aid training and instruction in the administration of CPR.
The bill further requires the commissioner to provide for the issuance of a
certificate to a person who possesses or acquires the necessary training.
On February 10, 2023, a 12 year-old boy named Elijah Jordan Brown-Garcia of Newark, New Jersey collapsed following a light football practice and conditioning skills training. During the practice, he was supervised by adults who did not know CPR or other life-saving first aid measures. This bill would ensure that the adults supervising children participating in sports are appropriately trained to provide CPR and other life-saving first aid measures.