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House committee advances bill to add opioid overdose education to high-school standards and ease naloxone access
Summary
The House Education Committee on Wednesday voted to send House Bill 12‑93 to the Appropriations Committee after sponsors removed a student‑training requirement and added a funding trigger. The bill would require the State Board of Education to integrate evidence‑based opioid overdose prevention into health education standards for ninth through 12th grades and allow schools to seek funding to furnish opioid antagonists such as naloxone.
Representatives advanced a bill Wednesday that would require the State Board of Education to add evidence‑based opioid overdose prevention to health education standards for ninth through 12th grades and create a mechanism for schools to obtain opioid antagonists such as naloxone.
The bill’s sponsors and supporters said the measure aims to make students and school staff more prepared to recognize and respond to opioid overdoses, while opponents warned the measure could open schools to inappropriate private influence over supplies and duplicate existing local harm‑reduction partnerships.
Representative Sonya Jackson, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the House Education Committee that “We’re all aware that the opioid crisis is not a distant issue. It's here affecting families, schools, and…
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