ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orange County school board has passed a motion making a course in CPR mandatory for graduation.
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The curriculum for the HOPE class, which is a health course juniors and seniors are required to take, has students learn CPR and also includes training on how to use electronic defibrillators.
School board members think the addition of the course could turn students into lifesavers.
"It would be nice for her to know that. Everybody should know that," said Art Howard, whose daughter is currently a freshman and will eventually have to take that course.
Orange County Public Schools said current state law requires that each student's progression from one grade to the next be determined, in part, upon proficiency in reading, writing, science and mathematics.
"Each district school board is required to establish a comprehensive program for student progression, as well as standards for evaluating each student's performance," the school district said.
OCPS said the highlights include:
- A third-grade student may not participate in subject matter acceleration for English/language arts due to the state reading assessment requirement, nor can a grade 2 student be considered for whole year promotion to grade 4 for the same reason.
- Graduation requirements include one credit in physical education, for health opportunities through physical education. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction is now required as part of the HOPE course. Participation in an interscholastic sport at the junior varsity or varsity level for two full seasons shall satisfy the one-credit requirement in physical education if the student passes a competency test on personal fitness with a score of "C" or better and completes the cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction. Each high school shall provide training in CPR.
A spokesperson for the district said the change should be relatively easy to make, mainly because most of the district's high schools already teach CPR and AED training during the HOPE course. Moving forward, that lesson will officially be a part of the curriculum and cannot be removed.
To see the entire plan, click here.