AB 82

This bill requires the Department of Public Instruction, in consultation with

the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, to develop information, including

an information sheet that may be distributed to participants, about the nature and

risk of sudden cardiac arrest in youth athletic activities. The bill specifically requires

that the information developed by DPI include information about 1) the risks

associated with continuing to participate in a youth athletic activity after

experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest symptom; 2) the potential risks and benefits of,

and evidentiary basis for, electrocardiogram testing; and 3) requesting an

electrocardiogram from a pupil's health care provider. Under the bill, a youth

athletic activity is defined as an organized athletic activity in which the participants,

a majority of whom are under 19 years of age, are engaged in an athletic game or

competition against another team, club, or entity, or in practice or preparation for an

organized athletic game or competition against another team, club, or entity. This

is the definition in current law that applies to requirements for providing

information related to the nature and risk of concussion and head injuries in youth

athletic activities.

Under the bill, at the beginning of a youth athletic activity season, an operator

of the youth athletic activity must distribute a sudden cardiac arrest information

sheet to each person who wishes to participate in the activity. The bill prohibits a

person from participating in a youth athletic activity until the person returns the

information sheet signed by the person and, if the person is 18 years old or younger,

the person's parent or guardian. However, the bill specifies that the sudden cardiac

arrest information sheet must be submitted to a private or public school only once

each school year and to a private club only once in the 365-day period before

participating in the athletic activity rather than prior to participation in each

athletic activity during the respective time period.