MO Lawmakers Urged to Reinstate CPR Training for Students

(Springfield, MO) -- There is an effort underway in the Missouri Legislature to require all students to know CPR by the time they graduate from high school.

The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross are urging the Missouri Senate to reinstate the training requirement in a bill passed the by Missouri House. The provision was removed last week.

The Red Cross says the training is a half-hour one-time class on how to perform CPR and gives students the confidence to perform it if needed.

"CPR is a life-saviing skill," says Jeremy Osgood with the American Red Cross. "It's an easy skill to learn. An easy skill to do. It is just a question that without training you can't be prepared to perform that skill. Really that's the important part to us. We want to know that as many people get trained as possible. This bill would allow all of the graduating seniors to get that training."

The Red Cross says this is only CPR training, not CPR certification.