AB 2144 pairs two familiar strands of school-safety law: AED deployment for interscholastic athletics and new staffing requirements around on-campus swimming events that are not part of interscholastic programs. The text requires school districts and charter schools that host such non-interscholastic pool events to ensure at least two adults with valid cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification are present throughout the event, and it preserves and cross-references existing AED procurement, maintenance, and liability rules.
For administrators and compliance officers, the bill matters because it creates a standing personnel obligation for a common school activity (swim events), ties immunity from civil liability to compliance with other statutory requirements (including Civil Code section 1714.21 and Health & Safety Code section 1797.196 for charter schools), and re-emphasizes maintenance/testing standards for AEDs tied to manufacturer guidance, the AHA/Red Cross, and applicable federal and state regulators. Those are operational mandates with budget, staffing, and training implications for districts and charter operators.
At a Glance
What It Does
The bill requires districts and charter schools that host non-interscholastic on-campus events in or around a swimming pool to have two adults on site with valid CPR certification for the duration of the event. It also restates AED acquisition obligations for schools that offer interscholastic athletics and mandates AED maintenance and testing under manufacturer, American Heart Association/American Red Cross, and regulatory guidance.
Who It Affects
Public school districts and charter schools in California that run interscholastic athletics or that sponsor or host on-campus pool events; athletic trainers, coaches, event supervisors, and school safety/compliance officers will bear operational responsibility. Charter-school employees and the schools themselves must follow cross-referenced Civil Code and Health & Safety Code requirements to secure statutory immunity.
Why It Matters
This creates a recurring staffing and training obligation for a routine category of events, formalizes how AEDs should be maintained and where liability protections attach, and forces districts and charters to coordinate procurement, staffing, and recordkeeping to preserve immunity.
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What This Bill Actually Does
AB 2144 knits together CPR staffing and AED rules already scattered through California law and applies them to on-campus swimming events that are not part of an interscholastic athletic program. For schools that run interscholastic athletics, the text reiterates the existing requirement to acquire at least one automated external defibrillator (AED) for each participating campus and to make AEDs accessible to athletic trainers, coaches, and authorized personnel, with an encouraged availability window of about three to five minutes after sudden cardiac arrest.
The bill adds a clear personnel mandate for non-interscholastic events at or around school pools: the sponsoring school must have two adults with valid CPR certification present for the duration of the event. It makes explicit that completion of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training under the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) coaching education program satisfies the requirement, which creates a ready compliance path for many coaches and volunteers.On liability, AB 2144 ties employee and school immunity to existing statutory frameworks.
It references Section 49417 for public-school employee and district liability rules related to AED use, and it instructs that charter-school employees and charter schools may obtain immunity under Civil Code section 1714.21 and Health & Safety Code section 1797.196 if they comply with those statutes. Immunity does not cover gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct.Finally, the bill requires regular maintenance and testing of AEDs according to manufacturer guidance, American Heart Association or American Red Cross recommendations, and any applicable FDA or other state and federal rules.
It also explicitly states it does not change the requirements already set out in Health & Safety Code section 1797.196, which governs AED programs more broadly in California.
The Five Things You Need to Know
For schools that offer interscholastic athletics, the statute requires at least one AED at each participating campus and encourages making it available within a recommended three to five minutes of sudden cardiac arrest.
When a district or charter school sponsors or hosts an on-campus event in or around a swimming pool that is not part of an interscholastic athletic program, the school must have two adults with valid CPR certification present for the event’s duration.
Completion of CPR training under the California Interscholastic Federation coaching education program satisfies the adult-CPR requirement for pool events.
The bill ties employee and school immunity for AED use to existing law: Section 49417 governs public-school employees and districts, and Civil Code section 1714.21 plus Health & Safety Code section 1797.196 govern charter-school immunity—none of which protect gross negligence or willful misconduct.
AEDs must be maintained and regularly tested per manufacturer guidance, American Heart Association or American Red Cross guidelines, and applicable FDA and state or federal rules; the bill does not amend Health & Safety Code section 1797.196.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Definition — AED
This short provision defines AED as 'automated external defibrillator.' It’s a basic definitional anchor used throughout the section so that later references to AEDs carry the expected medical-device meaning rather than a loose description.
AED procurement for interscholastic athletics
This paragraph requires school districts and charter schools that elect to offer any interscholastic athletic program to acquire at least one AED for each school that participates in the program. It also encourages—though does not mandate—placement such that the device can be used within a recommended three- to five-minute window after sudden cardiac arrest, and obliges schools to make AEDs available to athletic trainers, coaches, and authorized persons during on-campus athletic activities.
Two-CPR-certified-adult requirement for non-interscholastic on-campus pool events
This paragraph imposes the new staffing requirement: if a district or charter school sponsors or hosts an on-campus event in or around a swimming pool that is not part of an interscholastic athletic program, the school must require two adults with valid CPR certification to be present for the event’s duration. The provision also specifies that adults who meet CIF coaching education CPR standards satisfy this obligation, creating a clear compliance pathway for many school coaches and volunteers.
Public-school employee and district liability — cross-reference to Section 49417
These two subdivisions direct readers to Section 49417 to determine civil liability for school district employees and for public schools or districts regarding acts or omissions when using an AED. Practically, this means existing rules that govern when employees are shielded from damages for AED-related emergency care apply here as well.
Charter-school employee and school immunity conditions
These clauses make immunity for charter-school employees and charter schools contingent on compliance with Civil Code section 1714.21 and Health & Safety Code section 1797.196, respectively. The statute therefore does not create standalone immunity; it conditions protection on meeting the requirements already laid out in those statutes (for example, program registration, training, or other procedural prerequisites).
Exception for gross negligence or willful misconduct
This subdivision preserves a common statutory limitation: immunity described in the prior paragraphs does not apply where the person’s actions constitute gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct. That means compliance with AED or CPR rules does not immunize conduct that rises to those higher culpability standards.
AED maintenance and testing obligations
School districts and charter schools that provide AEDs must maintain and regularly test them according to manufacturer instructions and the guidance of the American Heart Association or American Red Cross, and in line with any applicable requirements from the FDA or other state/federal authorities. This places an operational and recordkeeping burden on schools to ensure devices remain ready and compliant with regulatory expectations.
Non-substantive overlap with Health & Safety Code
This closing clause makes explicit that the section does not alter Health & Safety Code section 1797.196. In practice this prevents conflict with broader AED program requirements and reinforces that affected entities must comply with existing Health & Safety Code obligations in addition to the duties in this section.
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Explore Education in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Students and pool-event attendees — they gain increased on-site CPR capacity and formalized AED access at athletic campuses, which should reduce response times for cardiac events.
- School coaches and trained volunteers — the bill recognizes CIF coaching CPR training as sufficient, creating a clear pathway for compliance without additional external certification for many existing staff.
- Athletic trainers and emergency responders — clearer AED placement expectations and maintenance duties improve device reliability and make on-campus handoff and coordination smoother.
Who Bears the Cost
- School districts and charter schools — must budget for AED acquisition (where required), ongoing maintenance/testing, and the staffing/training costs associated with ensuring two CPR-certified adults are available for covered pool events.
- Event organizers and volunteer programs — will need to track certifications, schedule certified adults for full-event coverage, and may face increased liability exposure if they fail to meet the staffing mandate.
- Charter schools seeking immunity — must ensure procedural compliance with Civil Code section 1714.21 and Health & Safety Code section 1797.196, which may require registration, recordkeeping, or other administrative steps that carry costs.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The bill pits immediate safety gains—mandating trained adults at pool events and reinforcing AED readiness—against practical burdens on schools: recurring training and staffing costs, administrative steps to preserve immunity, and legal uncertainty from ambiguous drafting; the law protects against ordinary negligence but still leaves entities vulnerable to technical noncompliance or allegations of gross negligence.
Two practical implementation challenges stand out. First, the text contains a drafting glitch—'one adult two adults'—that courts or agencies will need to reconcile; the surrounding language and the bill’s intent point to a two-adult requirement, but the duplication creates avoidable ambiguity that could complicate enforcement and compliance guidance.
Second, the personnel mandate is blunt: it requires two adults with valid CPR certification for the duration of any non-interscholastic on-campus pool event. That can be operationally difficult for small schools or volunteer-run events, which will need systems for certification tracking, scheduling, and backup coverage; without funding or strong volunteer pipelines, districts may cancel events or reclassify them to sidestep the requirement.
On liability and immunity, the statute relies on cross-references rather than creating a standalone immunity regime. For charter schools, immunity hinges on meeting the prerequisites of Civil Code section 1714.21 and Health & Safety Code section 1797.196—statutes that include their own procedural requirements (registration, training evidence, program elements) that are not duplicated here.
That linkage is sensible but raises an operational risk: an otherwise well-intentioned employee or school could lose immunity through a technical noncompliance unrelated to the emergency response itself. Finally, the AED availability goal (three- to five-minute window) is described as encouragement rather than a strict standard, so courts or regulators may face questions about what constitutes 'reasonable' placement when an outcome is disputed.
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