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Committee lays over bill to add overdose recognition and response to health standards
Summary
Senate File 2234, sponsored by Sen. Mann, would clarify that substance‑abuse education include overdose recognition, prevention and response; the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in the omnibus policy bill after student and provider testimony.
Senate File 2234, which would require that state health standards include overdose recognition, prevention and response education, was presented March 24 and laid over for possible inclusion in the omnibus policy bill.
Senator Mann, the bill sponsor, said the 2022 CDC data showing record overdose deaths motivated the measure; the bill would add language to Minnesota’s health standards under development at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) to explicitly include education on overdose recognition, prevention and response.
Testimony came from students and advocates, including Kaleek (Kalik) Rogers of Catalyst for Systems Change and several student leaders. Sofia Templos, a senior at the School of Environmental Studies and a nursing assistant, described personal loss in her family and cited Minnesota Department of Health monthly data comparing suspected opioid deaths in January 2025 (84) to the prior year (77). Tom Kottke, a retired cardiologist, supported adding eight words to existing state law so that “substance abuse education … includes overdose recognition prevention and response education,” saying peers and friends are most likely first on scene for accidental poisonings.
Committee members voiced bipartisan support for the approach and praised youth testimony. The committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion; no final committee vote on policy was taken at the hearing.
