State Senator April Baskin at the signing for “Desha’s Law” that requires every public school in NY to have a cardiac emergency response plan in place.
The Jamestown Public Schools’ District Wide Safety Plan has been updated to be compliant with New York’s “Desha’s Law.”
Executive Director of Information & Student Services Jesse Joy informed the Jamestown School Board Tuesday night that the District learned in July 2025 that they needed to update the plan to be compliant with “Desha’s Law” by January 2026, “Which is named in honor of the late Desha Sanders, a 12 year old girl from Western New York who tragically died of sudden cardiac arrest as a result of an unexpected problem with her heart. And, unfortunately, it happened in school. It happened during the basketball practice, and the AED was not accessible to the staff that were with her. And really none of the staff members that were with her were trained in CPR or AED.”
Joy said Desha’s aunt, State Senator April Baskin, co-sponsored the bill in 2025 that requires all New York public schools to implement a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP). This plan is a clearly defined protocol outlining what steps school personnel must take if a student experiences cardiac arrest.
Joy said that the District now has an adequate supply of automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, that are clearly marked and readily accessible while not being kept in a locked case. She said the safety plan includes clear plans and procedures in place so that all staff know what their roles and responsibilities are in the case of sudden cardiac arrest. Joy added that all staff will be trained in the signs, symptoms, and potential for sudden cardiac arrest to happen at any time including all interested staff being trained in CPR and use of AEDs.
The School Board unanimously passed the update to the safety plan.
Leave a Reply