House committee advances bill to add opioid overdose education to high-school standards and ease naloxone access

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 communities across our state.” Jackson said the bill takes “a two‑pronged approach” by adding prevention education to high‑school standards and by allowing schools to seek public and private funding to acquire and maintain opioid antagonists.

The bill originally included a student‑training requirement tied to access to naloxone; sponsors removed that requirement by amendment L1 to align the measure with Senate Bill 164. The committee also adopted an amendment (L3) that sets a funding trigger: if gifts, grants or donations totaling $20,000 are received by July 1, 2027, the State Board may adopt the off‑cycle standards earlier; if not, the standards would be addressed during the board’s ordinary cycle (2028), which sponsors said would eliminate a fiscal note.

Opponents included behavioral‑health providers and harm‑reduction advocates who said schools already receive naloxone through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s (CDPHE) naloxone bulk purchase fund and that the measure’s authorization to accept private gifts could open the door to “high‑dose” products they described as non‑evidence based. Bria Kinsella, chief executive of the Colorado Providers Association, said, “There appears to be a manufactured sense of urgency around naloxone access in schools,” and urged that distribution continue to be routed through the bulk‑purchase fund.

Supporters included emergency physicians, parent groups and student advocates who said education and on‑site access to opioid antagonists can save lives. Dr. Don Stater, an emergency and addiction medicine physician, told the committee that the state’s naloxone bulk fund had run out of money earlier this year and required a state infusion of funding, saying that created uncertainty about relying on that single source. Jacob Braring, a medical student, added that bystander naloxone was not administered in a majority of some recent overdoses in which it could have helped.

After brief closing remarks from sponsors reiterating that they seek to involve harm‑reduction partners in any standards process, the committee voted to send the amended bill to the Committee on Appropriations with a favorable recommendation.

Votes at a glance: The committee recorded a unanimous voice and roll call in favor of moving the bill to appropriations. Representative Pugliese moved the motion; it was seconded by Vice Chair Martinez.