The Durham Public Schools Board approved the first reading of a proposed policy to permit and guide emergency naloxone use in schools, with several substantive edits and requests for follow-up.

Administration presented a draft adapted from the NCSBA model that would authorize the superintendent (or designee) to acquire naloxone and set expectations for training. Board members debated the minimum number of trained staff per school (options ranged from one to three), whether school nurses and SROs count toward that minimum (attorneys clarified policy can typically require district staff, not contract staff), whether the superintendent should be required to ensure an "adequate supply" (some board members asked that language be strengthened and suggested mirroring EpiPen policy language such as 'shall ensure at least two devices'), and whether operational details (a form, procedures) belong in policy or regulation.

Legal counsel explained that the policy should authorize trained employees while not preventing bystanders from acting in emergencies, and recommended keeping certain operational instructions in regulations or procedures rather than in policy. The board asked administration to return with refined language clarifying how 'adequate supply' is defined, whether a minimum of three DPS staff should be trained at each school (some board members favored three), and whether trained staff should generally be full-time or site-assigned. The policy passed first read and is slated for second reading on the January work-session consent agenda after committee edits.