105 Schools Recognized As HEARTSafe
October 19, 2016
The Michigan Departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), and Education (MDE); American Heart Association (AHA); Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA); and Michigan Alliance for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death of the Young (MAP-SCDY) have awarded 105 schools in Michigan with the MI HEARTSafe School designation which recognizes schools that are prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies.
“Many sudden cardiac deaths that claim the lives of children and young adults could be prevented through screening, detection, and treatment,” said Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive of MDHHS. “Appropriate medical response within three to five minutes is crucial for increasing the chance of survival, which is why I’m pleased to see so many of our schools taking vital measures to prepare and address this health issue.”
In order for a school to receive a MI HEARTSafe School designation, it must perform at least one cardiac emergency response drill per year, have a written medical emergency response plan and team, have current CPR/AED certification of at least 10 percent of staff, 100 percent of head varsity coaches, and 50 percent of P.E. staff; have accessible, properly maintained and inspected AEDs with signs identifying their location; and ensure pre-participation sports screening of all student athletes using the current physical and history form endorsed by the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
“We are so proud to support Michigan’s HEARTSafe schools,” said State Superintendent Brian Whiston. “Ensuring schools are prepared for sudden cardiac emergencies through planning, training, and life-saving AEDs is an important part of having safer learning environments for students, staff, and the community.”
Between 2003 and 2012 in Michigan, there were 2,590 young individuals between 1 and 39 years of age who died of sudden cardiac death. Of those, 214 were between 5 and 19 years of age. This is the third year of the MI HEARTSafe Schools program in Michigan. In the first two years of the initiative, 162 schools were previously designated as MI HEARTSafe Schools and prepared to help reduce the number of sudden cardiac deaths in our youth.
Public Act 12 of 2014 requires all schools (grades kindergarten to 12) to have a cardiac emergency response plan in place. This MI HEARTSafe School designation recognizes the 267 school buildings that have taken steps above and beyond to prepare to respond in the event of a cardiac emergency, and is awarded for a period of three years. Click for the list of designated schools.
Schools that meet all of the requirements will be able to apply for the MI HEARTSafe School designation each year. Click for information about the MI HEARTSafe Schools program.
Brush Up on the New Transfer Rule
July 18, 2019
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
Eligibility under the new “sport-specific” transfer rule begins this coming fall after circulating extensively for nearly one school year.
Unless one of the stated 15 exceptions is met, participation during the 2018-19 school year determines eligibility for 2019-20.
The new rule adopted by the Representative Council at its May 2018 meeting has found support among most audiences. A transfer student’s eligibility in 2019-20 is based upon that student’s participation from this past school year (2018-19). It will be paramount for administrators and coaches to have awareness of the sports a transfer student participated in during the previous school year.
The long-standing 15 Exceptions to immediate eligibility, such as a full and complete residential change or a student moving between divorced parents by completing of an Educational Transfer Form, did not change.
One might call the rule on the way out “The Fourth-Friday Transfer Rule.” Under this old rule, when a student enrolled at the new school determined his or her eligibility. Under the new Sport Specific Transfer rule, what a student played in the previous season determines eligibility.
The Council passed a more lenient rule on the one hand and more restrictive on the other. The more lenient aspect is a change that finds a transfer student ELIGIBLE in any sport in which he or she did not participate in a game or a scrimmage in the previous school year.
The more restrictive portion tends to discourage students who change schools for sports reasons. A transfer student who did play a sport in the previous season – and who does not meet one of the 15 Exceptions – is NOT ELIGIBLE in that sport for the next season. If a student changes schools in mid-season, the student would be ineligible for the rest of that season in that sport and the next season for that sport.
Participation under this and other rules means playing in an interscholastic game or scrimmage after starting the 9th grade at any high school. It does not mean practice, but entering an interscholastic game, meet or scrimmage in any way. It also may involve more than one sport, so a three-sport athlete who does not have a residential change and transfers would be ineligible in those sports during the next school year – but eligible for any other sport. It also means a student cut from a team – one who never entered a scrimmage or game – may transfer and play without delay for that new school’s team. It may also mean that a student who meets one of the stated exceptions such as a residential change but enrolls in a school other than her or his school of residence, would have eligibility in sports not played in the previous year.
The new rule will tend to discourage students from changing schools for sports because they would be ineligible in any sport they have played in school the previous season for that sport. It will increase participation for some students who were otherwise not eligible under the current rule.
It is always best to contact school athletic directors who can connect with the MHSAA to verify eligibility prior to enrollment.
If the student’s new school requests in writing, the MHSAA Executive Committee may approve a waiver that reduces the period of ineligibility to 90 scheduled school days at the new school if the change of schools was for compelling reasons demonstrated with outside documentation having nothing to do with sports, curriculum, finances, and school demographics. The Executives Committee also has authority to approve immediate eligibility.