Senate committee advances 'Wesley’s Law' to expand Narcan access in Georgia schools

The Georgia Senate Education Committee voted to advance SB 395, nicknamed "Wesley’s Law," after a lengthy hearing in which witnesses and members described opioid overdoses in schools and debated liability and implementation details. The bill, as amended, would require school systems to acquire and maintain a supply of opioid antagonist (Narcan) in secure locations and allow school personnel and, in some cases, students to possess or carry the medication.

The sponsor of SB 395 (identified in the transcript only as the bill's author) opened by describing a personal connection: the measure is named for a relative who died from an overdose. The sponsor said current Georgia law permits only a school nurse to administer an opioid antagonist and to store it in the clinic; the bill would broaden access and include civil- and professional-discipline immunity for personnel who in good faith administer or decline to administer the medication.

The bill drew both…