# Why Aren't We Teaching Every Student CPR?

> Students saved teacher with CPR after school game.
- Title: Why Aren't We Teaching Every Student CPR? · TIME | Shortify
- Summary: Students saved teacher with CPR after school game. Michigan students used CPR skills to save teacher from cardiac arrest, showing how school training could…
- Keywords: cpr, cardiac arrest, high school, michigan, school health, aeds, cardiac arrest survival, Aren't, Teaching, Every, Student, TIME
- Source: TIME — https://time.com/article/2026/10/18/why-aren-t-we-teaching-every-student-cpr
- Author: Meng Yang
- Published: 2026-10-18T10:00:04.037+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: cpr, cardiac arrest, high school, michigan, school health, aeds, cardiac arrest survival
## Michigan students save teacher
Two Michigan high school students used CPR skills to save their teacher from cardiac arrest during a basketball game.

> They had both recently learned cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) at a career-focused technical nursing center and rushed to help, beginning chest compressions and using an automated external defibrillator (AED) before emergency responders arrived.
## Cardiac arrest survival rates
Roughly nine out of ten people who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not survive.

> Roughly nine out of ten will not survive.
## CPR saves lives quickly
Every minute without CPR sharply reduces the chances a patient will live long enough to reach a hospital.

> Every minute without CPR sharply reduces the chances the patient will live long enough to reach a hospital.
## Schools as CPR training hubs
Schools are the best places to teach CPR because students encounter them daily and may need skills years later.

> Schools occupy a special role in public health. As a location most Americans pass through and one of the only places they may ever encounter CPR training, a high school classroom may be the best opportunity to prepare the next generation of lifesavers.
## CPR training in Europe
Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and England require school CPR education through national standards.

> In Europe, Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Portugal, and England implemented school CPR education through national requirements or curriculum standards.
## Denmark's CPR success
Denmark doubled bystander CPR rates and tripled 30-day survival after cardiac arrest from 2001 to 2010.

> From 2001 to 2010, as Denmark introduced nationwide resuscitation initiatives including mandatory school CPR education, bystander CPR rates more than doubled, while 30-day survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest more than tripled.
## KIDS SAVE LIVES initiative
The KIDS SAVE LIVES initiative shows children can learn CPR basics by age 4 and perform effective compressions by age 12.

> Research from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation shows children can learn the early links in the chain of survival from the young age of 4, perform effective chest compressions by age 12, and pass skills to family members and others.
## U.S. CPR education progress
43 states require CPR education before high school graduation, with seven states still needing to implement it.

> Today, 43 states require some form of CPR education before high school graduation. California, Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and Wyoming are the seven that remain.
## Massachusetts expansion
Massachusetts invested $425,000 to expand CPR education in public schools.

> Massachusetts invested $425,000 to expand CPR education in public schools.
## Key takeaway

Michigan students used CPR skills to save teacher from cardiac arrest, showing how school training could prevent deaths.