The House Education Committee heard testimony Monday on legislation that would require Alaska public schools to teach students cardiopulmonary resuscitation at least once before graduation.

Senate Bill 20, sponsored by Senator Liz Gray-Jackson of Anchorage, would direct the Department of Education and Early Development to develop age-appropriate, hands-only CPR curriculum and determine which grade levels receive the instruction. The bill passed the Senate and is now before the House Education Committee for its first hearing.

Cardiac arrest claims more than 365,000 lives each year in the United States, making it the third leading cause of death. When administered immediately, CPR can more than triple a person's chances of survival.

The bill removes CPR from existing health education statutes and creates a standalone CPR education requirement. Schools would have flexibility in who provides the instruction, including certified CPR instructors, emergency medical services providers, or certified teachers. The curriculum must follow national evidence-based guidelines and include hands-on practice.

Anchorage Fire Chief Doug Schrage testified that most cardiac arrests occur in the home, where a trained student would be likely to respond. He said survival rates decline about 10 percent for every minute CPR is not provided.

"Every day of every year someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest and often the first person providing CPR that has been trained is the EMS provider that arrives in an ambulance or on a fire truck," Schrage said.

In Anchorage, where response times average five to six minutes, the survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest is about 50 percent, compared to a national average around 30 percent. The provision of hands-only CPR, especially when accompanied by an automatic defibrillator, greatly improves survival rates.

Jason Dahl, a safety officer with the Anchorage Fire Department and 27-year veteran of emergency services in Alaska, described responding to his first call as a firefighter: a cardiac arrest where eight family members stood around the victim but no one performed CPR because they had never been trained.

"When responders arrive and no bystander is performing CPR, we most often have negative results despite our best efforts and despite advancements in medicine," Dahl said. "On the other hand, when CPR is being performed by a bystander on arrival, we also have very positive results."

Nationwide, only about 40 percent of people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest receive CPR before professionals arrive. More than 40 states have passed legislation requiring CPR instruction in schools.

The bill would require the course only once during a student's K-12 career, not as a semester or year-long requirement. Supporters emphasized the instruction takes about one hour and uses curriculum already developed and available through the state EMS system at no cost.

Children as young as 9 or 10 years old can acquire the knowledge and perform CPR skills. Research shows even children as young as four can learn some role in the continuum of survivability.

The bill has support from the Anchorage Fire Department, the Heart and Vascular Institute, the American Heart Association, and the Alaska Fire Chiefs Association.

The committee took no action on the bill Monday. Public testimony will be heard at a future meeting.