The Kentucky House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring public schools to purchase portable defibrillators. Lawmakers approved House bill 252 by a vote of 92-2 on Friday.
The bill requires each school council or principal to buy a defibrillator by the 2019-2020 academic year and to adopt policies on how to use the devices, which restart hearts with an electric shock.
Representative Steve Riley of Glasgow, a retired teacher, said he voted for the bill in honor of a student who died at Barren County High School despite Riley’s effort to resuscitate.
Representative Lynn Bechler voted against the bill because it requires schools to buy something without giving them the money to purchase it.
