CPR Graduation Requirements: Does Your State Require Training?

This article, originally published June 2, 2026, was updated Aug. 27, 2026, to reflect new CPR education requirements in Alaska and other recent state developments.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training has become a graduation requirement across most of the country, particularly over the past decade. Today, 43 states and Washington, D.C., require students to receive CPR instruction before graduating from high school.

Alaska became the latest state to join that list in June 2026. The first state to establish a CPR graduation requirement was Alabama in 1984, followed by Iowa in 2008. Most states adopted their requirements between 2013 and 2021.

Requirements vary by state. Some specifically require hands-on CPR instruction before graduation, while others incorporate training into health or physical education courses. Most require students to receive training rather than earn CPR certification.

The chart below tracks whether CPR instruction is currently required before high school graduation. It also notes states such as California and Colorado that have CPR education provisions but do not have a universal statewide graduation requirement. The American Heart Association also maintains a CPR in Schools legislation map.

Recent CPR Training Developments

Alaska Adds CPR Requirement

Alaska became the latest state to require CPR education before high school graduation when House Bill 27 became law June 18, 2026.

The law requires public schools to provide Hands-Only CPR education to students before graduation. It was part of a larger legislative package aimed at improving Alaska's response to heart attacks, strokes, and other time-sensitive medical emergencies.

Minnesota Schools Implement Cardiac Emergency Response Plans

Minnesota schools are implementing a new statewide requirement for Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs) during the 2026-27 school year.

Passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2025, the law requires schools to maintain written plans outlining how staff should recognize and respond to a cardiac emergency, including activating emergency medical services, beginning CPR, and using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

Plans also establish response team roles, address access to emergency equipment, and call for regular practice drills.

Minnesota already requires students to receive CPR instruction before high school graduation. The CERP requirement adds another layer of cardiac preparedness by addressing how schools and staff should respond when an actual cardiac emergency occurs.

Colorado Encourages CPR and AED Training

Colorado does not require CPR training for high school graduation, but state law strongly encourages schools serving grades nine through 12 to provide CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) instruction.

Under Senate Bill 23-023, Colorado's comprehensive health education curriculum guidelines must include hands-on CPR skills and AED use. High schools are strongly encouraged, but not required, to implement the curriculum.

Massachusetts Lawmakers Consider Graduation Requirement

Massachusetts also does not currently require CPR training for graduation, although lawmakers have introduced several proposals that would change that.

Among them, Senate Bill 456 would require CPR and AED instruction for high school graduation. House Bill 572 similarly proposes requiring public high school students to demonstrate general knowledge of CPR and AED use as a prerequisite for graduation.

CPR Requirements by State

Note: Requirements vary by state. “Yes” indicates that students are required to receive CPR instruction before high school graduation; it does not necessarily mean students must earn CPR certification.

How High School CPR Requirements Typically Work

In most states, CPR instruction is embedded into an existing course, most commonly health or physical education. Schools typically don't create a standalone CPR class just to satisfy the requirement.

It is also important to distinguish between CPR training and CPR certification. Most state laws require students to learn and practice CPR skills but do not require them to become formally certified.

Requirements commonly include:

• Hands-on CPR practice
• Instruction on AED use
• Exposure to nationally recognized CPR guidelines

Some states give districts flexibility in how instruction is delivered. Schools may partner with local fire and EMS departments, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, or other community groups, or train school employees to provide instruction.

Some school safety directors become certified American Red Cross instructors and conduct the trainings themselves, which can save districts money.

For example, Colorado's implementation guidance encourages districts to consider partnerships with emergency services, nonprofit organizations, and higher education institutions, as well as building internal capacity among teachers, school nurses, counselors, social workers, school resource officers, and other staff.

Why Schools Teach CPR

Cardiac arrest is responsible for 5-10% of all deaths among children aged 5–19 years, according to the National Library of Medicine.

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States. Immediate CPR can double or triple a person's chance of survival after cardiac arrest.

However, only about 40% of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR before EMS arrives, making schools an important place to equip young people with lifesaving skills they can carry with them into adulthood.

Research on School-Based CPR Training

Research suggests these efforts can make a difference. A 2022 systematic review of 14 studies examining school-based CPR training among adolescents concluded that instruction improved CPR knowledge and skills. Researchers concluded that continuous CPR training among schoolchildren should be encouraged to help ensure they are prepared to use those skills during a cardiac emergency.

High school CPR training laws have also been associated with higher rates of bystander CPR in states that require CPR education compared with states that do not, according to research highlighted by Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

A 2023 scientific statement from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, American Heart Association, and European Resuscitation Council reviewed more than 100 studies related to CPR education.

The statement found that CPR education can begin as early as age four and build over time, with many children able to perform effective chest compressions on training manikins by around age 10.

A Real-World Example

In one Alabama high school, the campus safety director became a certified American Red Cross instructor and began offering CPR training to students.

While the original goal was to train teachers, he eventually expanded the training to students. Approximately 120 students took him up on the offer.

The training was offered through a one-week course called "Adulting 101," which also covered life skills such as cooking, laundry, and self-defense.

One of those students later used his training to revive his girlfriend after she went into cardiac arrest because of an undiagnosed heart condition.

CPR/First Aid Training Resources

• American Red Cross offers courses for all ages, starting as young as elementary school
• The American Heart Association offers courses for grades 6-12

Additional Resources

• Involving Students in School Safety Can Save Lives; This Campus Safety Director Has Proof
• CPR and AED Training in Schools Saves Lives
• Student Who Learned CPR at School Saves Child Who Fell Into Pool
• UVM’s Cat ECare Provides AEDs on Campus to Save Lives of Cardiac Arrest Victims
• Texas Lawmakers Pass ‘Landon Payton Act,’ Mandating More AEDs, CPR Training in Schools
• The Wrong Placement of AEDs and Bleeding Control Gear Could Cost You
• What Is Bystander Care and Why Is It So Important?