During the 2009 Legislative Session, a bill was passed requiring all public schools in the state to implement an emergency action plan that includes the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). The bill also requires that schools have personnel trained in the use of the AED and in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Unfortunately, when the governor required state offices to cut budgets by $100 million dollars, the funding for AED and CPR training were also cut.
Pea Ridge School District’s goal is to send a message to Arkansas state decision makers asking them to find the funds to protect our children. Elementary grades colored a coloring sheet and older students signed a petition.
All students were also encouraged to wear red on Feb. 5, the American Heart Association’s National Wear Red Day. This is a day set aside nationally for people to recognize that heart disease and strokes claim more lives than any other causes of death. It is also a day of educating people to live a heart healthy lifestyle.
We are using this day in Arkansas to encourage decision makers to restore the funding for AEDs and CPR so no child goes unprotected.