Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUÑOZ
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman VERLINA REYNOLDS-JACKSON
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
SYNOPSIS
Requires instruction on bleeding control for high school students.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning instruction in public schools and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Beginning with the first full school year following the date of enactment of this act, the board of education of each school district shall incorporate instruction on bleeding control for students in grades nine through 12 as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. A board of education may utilize an instructional or training program established by the American College of Surgeons to meet the requirements of this section.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the board of education of each school district, beginning with the first full school year following enactment, to incorporate instruction on bleeding control for students in grades nine through 12 as part of the district’s implementation of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards in Comprehensive Health and Physical Education. The bill permits a board of education to utilize an instructional or training program established by the American College of Surgeons to meet the requirements of the bill.
The “Stop the Bleed” program established by the American College of Surgeons is a national campaign that trains people on how to stop or slow bleeding in emergencies through public empowerment, increased access to bleeding control kits, and knowledge of basic trauma care. Unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes and unintentional falls, are the leading cause of death for children and adults under the age of 45, ending more lives prematurely than cancer and heart disease. Medical researchers have found that as many as one in three lives could be saved with faster access to treatment, with some estimates finding that as many as 31,000 patients across the country die each year of potentially preventable bleeding after an injury.
Bleeding control courses such as “Stop the Bleed” teach quick techniques to stop blood loss that empower individuals to assist in an emergency, including how to use your hands to apply pressure to a wound, how to pack a wound to control bleeding, and how to apply a tourniquet. By learning how to control bleeding, students can gain the ability to recognize life-threatening bleeding and act quickly and effectively to control bleeding and save someone’s life.