Existing law authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide emergency naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to school nurses or voluntary trained personnel, and authorizes those nurses and voluntary trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose, as provided.

This bill would require each individual public school operated by a school district, county office of education, or charter school that has elected to make a school nurse or trained personnel available at the school pursuant to those provisions to maintain at least 2 units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist for purposes of those authorizations.

Date of Hearing: May 1, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 3271

Author:(Joe Patterson) – As Introduced Ver:February 16, 2024

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill requires each school that has a school nurse or trained personnel available at the school to maintain at least two units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist on the campus.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund cost pressures, potentially as high as the low hundreds of thousands of dollars, to local education agencies with elementary schools that have a school nurse or trained personnel on campus to purchase additional units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist. A two-pack at a pharmacy retails for $45. The state has about 6,000 elementary schools. To the extent schools access units through the Naloxone Distribution Project, there could be cost pressures to the Naloxone Distribution Project to supply the kits.

COMMENTS:

1. Background. Naloxone hydrochloride is an over-the-counter opioid overdose reversal medication. The medication works almost immediately to reverse opiate overdose and has few known adverse effects and has no potential for abuse. The medication can be rapidly administered, typically through nasal spray.

The California Department of Public Health administers the Naloxone Distribution Project. The project provides free naloxone to various eligible entities, including schools, colleges and universities, community organizations, and first responders.

According to the “Assembly Budget Committee Floor Report of the 2023-24 Budget,” the budget includes funding to California Department of Public Health for the Naloxone Distribution Project. Specifically, the budget includes an increase of $42.8 million in the 2023-24 budget year, $12.8 million annually in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 budget years, and $12.1 million in the 2026-27 budget year, all from the Opioid Settlements Fund to expand the distribution of naloxone through NDP. The budget also includes language authorizing the backfilling of certain reductions to the program with Opioid Settlement Fund dollars once they become available.

SB 114 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2023, provides $3.5 million in ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund to county offices of education to purchase and maintain at least two doses of opioid antagonists to distribute to each middle school, junior high school, high school, and adult school in its county. Current law states the purchases are to complement the efforts of the Naloxone Distribution Project.

Current law also states that as a condition of receipt of the opioid antagonists purchased by county offices of education, local educational agencies are to ensure no fewer than two schoolsite staff members per schoolsite meet the minimum standards of training for the administration of an opioid antagonist or have undergone opioid overdose prevention and treatment training and reviewed materials available on the California Department of Public Health’s website.

This bill requires each school that has a school nurse or trained personnel available at the school to maintain at least two units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist on its campus.

1. Related Legislation. SB 10 (Cortese), Chapter 856, Statutes of 2023, adds the following to the list of requirements for a comprehensive school safety plan, a protocol in the event a pupil is suffering or is reasonably believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose.

AB 19 (Joe Patterson) is nearly identical to this bill. AB 19 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Natasha Collins / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 16, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH

Mia Bonta, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 3271

Author: (Joe Patterson) – As Introduced Ver:February 16, 2024

SUBJECT: Pupil health: opioid antagonists.

SUMMARY: Requires each public school operated by a school district, county office of education (COE), or charter school that has chosen to permit school nurses or voluntarily trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride (NH) or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering from an opioid overdose, to maintain at least two units of NH or another opioid antagonist on its site.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Establishes State Department of Public Health (DPH), directed by a state Public Health Officer (PHO), to be vested with all the duties, powers, purposes, functions, responsibilities, and jurisdiction as they relate to public health disease prevention. Gives the PHO broad authority to detect, monitor, and prevent the spread of communicable disease in the state. [Health & Safety Code (HSC) §131050 and §120130, et seq.]
2. Authorizes DPH, in order to reduce the rate of fatal overdose from opioid drugs including heroin and prescription opioids, to award funding to local health departments, local government agencies, or on a competitive basis to community-based organizations, regional opioid prevention coalitions, or both, to support or establish programs that provide naloxone, or any other opioid antagonist that is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of an opioid overdose, to first responders and to at-risk opioid users through programs that serve at-risk drug users, including, but not limited to, syringe exchange and disposal programs, homeless programs, and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment providers. [HSC §1179.80]
3. Establishes within the California Health and Human Services Agency a grant program to reduce fentanyl overdoses and use throughout the state by providing six one-time grants: two in northern California, two in the central valley, and two in southern California. [Welfare and Institutions Code §3200]
4. Permits a pharmacy to furnish NH or another opioid antagonist to a school district, COE, or charter school pursuant to existing law if certain requirements are met. [Business and Professions Code (BPC) §4119.8]
5. Authorizes a pharmacy, wholesaler, or manufacturer to furnish NH or other opioid antagonists to a law enforcement agency if specified conditions are met. [BPC §4119.9]
6. Classifies controlled substances under the California Uniform Controlled Substances Act, into five schedules and places the greatest restrictions and penalties on the use of those substances placed in Schedule I. Classifies the drug fentanyl in Schedule II. [HSC §11054-11058]
7. Establishes ongoing funding for COEs to purchase and maintain sufficient stock of emergency NH or another opioid antagonist for local educational agencies (LEAs) within its jurisdiction. [Education Code (EDC) §49414.8]
8. Authorizes school districts, COEs, and charter schools to provide emergency NH or another opioid antagonist to school nurses or trained volunteer personnel for the purpose of providing emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose. [EDC §49414.3 et seq.]
9. Authorizes public and private elementary and secondary schools to voluntarily determine whether or not to make emergency NH or another opioid antagonist and trained personnel available at its school. Requires a school to evaluate the emergency medical response time to the school and determine whether initiating emergency medical services is an acceptable alternative to NH or another opioid antagonist and trained personnel. [EDC §49414.3 (c)]
10. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to establish minimum standards of training for the administration of NH or another opioid antagonist and to review the minimum standards of training every five years, or sooner, as deemed necessary. Requires the SPI to consult with organizations and providers with expertise in administering NH or another opioid antagonist and administering medication in a school environment, including, the California Society of Addiction Medicine, the Emergency Medical Services Authority, the California School Nurses Organization, the California Medical Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. [EDC §49414.3(e)]

FISCAL EFFECT: None.

COMMENTS:

1. PURPOSE OF THIS BILL. According to the author it is time we take the initiative to have simple and proven preventative care available to schools where our kids spend a majority of their time. The author argues that fentanyl is being disguised as candy and is readily available in every community and questions why we aren't we putting NH on every campus. The author continues that many schools refuse to carry NH, primarily because they are unsure about statutory authority and protection from liability. The author concludes that we can solve that by passing this bill to save lives at a nominal cost.
2. BACKGROUND. California is facing an overdose epidemic. According to a California Health Care Foundation report, 9% of Californians have met the criteria for a SUD within the last year. While the health care system is moving toward acknowledging SUDs as a chronic illness, only about 10% of people with an SUD within the last year received treatment. Overdose deaths from both opioids and psychostimulants (such as amphetamines), are soaring. This issue, compounded by the increased availability of fentanyl, has resulted in a 10-fold increase in fentanyl related deaths between 2015 and 2019. According to DPH, fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased 625% among youth ages 10 to 19 from 2018 to 2020. DPH’s Opioid Overdose Dashboard reported there were 177 fentanyl-related overdose deaths and 1,165 opioid-related overdose emergency department visits among youth ages 10 to 19 years old in 2022. 
   1. Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the FDA for use as an analgesic and anesthetic. It is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. First developed in 1959, it was introduced in the 1960’s as an intravenous anesthetic. Fentanyl is legally manufactured and distributed in the US; however, there are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids. Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer. Most recently, cases of fentanyl-related overdoses are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl that is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.
      
      The California Department of Education, in conjunction with DPH, provides LEAs with resources and information that they can provide to parents and students. The Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention toolkit page offer information about the risks of fentanyl and how to prevent teen use and overdoses. In addition to the toolkit, DPH’s Substance and Addiction Prevention branch also provides resources for parents, guardians, caretakers, educators, schools, and youth-serving providers.
   2. Reversing opioid overdoses. NH is the generic name for an opioid antagonist that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. It attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. NH can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. NH comes in two FDA-approved forms: injectable and prepackaged nasal spray. Narcan nasal spray was first approved by the FDA in 2015 as a prescription drug.

According to the FDA, in accordance with a process to change the status of a drug from prescription to nonprescription, the manufacturer of Narcan provided data demonstrating that the drug is safe and effective for use as directed in its proposed labeling. The manufacturer also showed that consumers can understand how to use the drug safely and effectively without the supervision of a healthcare professional. The application to approve Narcan nasal spray for over-the-counter (OTC) use was granted priority review status and was the subject of an advisory committee meeting in February 2023, where committee members voted unanimously to recommend it be approved for marketing without a prescription.

As of July 2023 the FDA approved Narcan and RiVive, for OTC, nonprescription use. These are the first NH products approved for use without a prescription. This approval will allow the medications to be sold directly to consumers in drug stores, grocery stores, as well as online. According to an FDA Commissioner, “The approval of OTC NH nasal spray will help improve access to NH, increase the number of locations where it’s available and help reduce opioid overdose deaths throughout the country. We encourage the manufacturer to make accessibility to the product a priority by making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price.”

• 1. NH Availability in California school districts. The 2023-24 state Budget appropriated $3.5 million annually for COEs to purchase and maintain a sufficient stock of emergency opioid antagonists for school districts and charter schools within their jurisdiction, and to maintain a minimum of two units at each middle school, junior high school, high school, and adult school site. As a condition of receiving the funding, each school or charter school must ensure two staff members meet minimum training standards.
  2. DPH statewide standing order for NH. NH can help reduce opioid overdose deaths in California, but many organizations find it difficult to obtain the required standing order to obtain NH from health care providers. According to DPH, of the 7,175 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2021, 83% or 5,961 were related to fentanyl. The number of deaths each year involving fentanyl increased dramatically between 2012 and 2021. During this time period fentanyl related overdose deaths increased by more than 7,250% from 82 to 5,961 in 2021. DPH issued a standing order, in 2017, to address this need and support equitable NH access. The standing order:
     1. Allows community organizations and other entities in California that are not currently working with a physician, to distribute NH to a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose or to a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist; and,
     2. Allows for the administration of NH by a family member, friend, or other person to a person experiencing or reasonably suspected of experiencing an opioid overdose.

Among the organizations and entities that can distribute NH under the order are colleges and universities. An individual at risk of experiencing an overdose or someone who can assist an individual at risk is allowed to do so. Under the statewide standing order, staff of community organizations and other entities distributing NH must be trained. They are also required to provide training to individuals who receive NH from them. Colleges and other organizations may apply to use the statewide standing order if they meet certain conditions. As of November 2023, DPH stated that a standing order is no longer needed for Narcan due to its OTC status, all other formulations remain available by prescription only and require a standing order to distribute and administer.

• 1. Naloxone Distribution Project (NDP). A separate distribution program administered through the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), the NDP allows various entities, including schools, universities and colleges, to apply for and obtain NH at no cost to the institution. As of February 20, 2024 the NDP has approved more than 10,800 applications for NH (17% of which are from schools and universities), distributed more than 3.8 million kits of NH and reversed more than 245,000 opioid overdoses. DHCS reports that less than one percent of the overdose reversals reported in the NDP occurred in schools and universities.

1. SUPPORT. The California Emergency Nurses Association (CA ENA) supports the bill, stating for the first time in California, drug overdoses are deadlier than car accidents and homicides combined. CA ENA argues that the potential of an opioid overdose is becoming more common as fentanyl is flooding into California and doses have been made to look like prescription drugs and even candy. CA ENA continues that this bill will help to save lives when minutes count by promoting easy access to an opioid blocker throughout our schools. 
2. RELATED LEGISLATION.
   1. AB 1915 (Arambula) requires DPH to develop by July 1, 2026, a training program and toolkit for public school pupils in grades nine to 12, to gain skills in how to identify and respond to an opioid overdose, including the administering of a federally approved opioid overdose reversal medication. AB 1915 is pending in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
   2. AB 2998 (McKinnor) permits minors 12 years of age and above to consent to receiving, carrying, and administering NH or another opioid antagonist if approved by a physician. AB 2998 is pending in Assembly Health Committee.
   3. SB 997 (Portantino) requires middle and high schools operated by a LEA to stock and distribute fentanyl test strips, in addition to authorizing LEAs, COEs, and charter schools to develop and adopt a policy that allows pupils in middle schools and high schools to carry federally approved NH. SB 997 is pending in Senate Health Committee.
3. PREVIOUS LEGISLATION.
   1. SB 472 (Hurtado) of 2023 would have required each campus of a public school operated by an LEA, COE, or charter school to maintain at least two doses on its campus, and distribute, NH or another opioid antagonist pursuant to the standing order for naloxone and would have required LEAs, COEs, and charter school to report to the DHCS for failure to distribute naloxone. This bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.
   2. AB 915 (Arambula) of 2023 would have required DPH to develop by March 1, 2024, a training program and toolkit for public school pupils in grades nine to 12, to gain skills in how to identify and respond to an opioid overdose, including the administering of a federally approved opioid overdose reversal medication. AB 915 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file.
   3. AB 1748 (Mayes), Chapter 557, Statutes of 2016, authorizes school nurses and other trained personnel to use NH or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose.
   4. SB 1438 (Pavley), Chapter 491, Statutes of 2014, required the development of training and other standards for the administration of NH by emergency medical technicians and other pre-hospital emergency care personnel.
   5. AB 635 (Ammiano), Chapter 707, Statutes of 2013, revised certain provisions from a pilot program authorizing prescription of opioid antagonists for treatment of drug overdose and limiting civil and criminal liability, expanded these provisions statewide, and removed the 2016 sunset date for the pilot program. Permits a licensed health care provider who is authorized by law to prescribe an opioid antagonist, if acting with reasonable care, to prescribe and subsequently dispense or distribute an opioid antagonist to a person at risk of an opioid-related overdose or a family member, friend, or other person in a position to assist the person at risk, and limited the professional and civil liability of licensed health care providers and persons who possess or distribute opioid antagonists.
4. DOUBLE REFERRAL. This bill is double referred, it passed the Assembly Committee on Education with a 7-0 vote on March 20, 2024.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals
California District Attorneys Association
California Emergency Nurses Association
Orange County Sheriff's Department
San Diego County District Attorney's Office

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Riana King / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097

Date of Hearing: April 3, 2024

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

Al Muratsuchi, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 3271 (

Author:Joe Patterson) – As Introduced Ver:February 16, 2024

SUBJECT: Pupil health: opioid antagonists

SUMMARY: Requires each public school that has chosen to permit school nurses or voluntarily trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering from an opioid overdose, to maintain at least two units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist on its site. Specifically, this bill:

1. Requires each public school operated by a school district, county office of education (COE), or charter school that has chosen to permit school nurses or voluntarily trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist, to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering from an opioid overdose, to maintain at least two units of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist on its site.
2. Makes technical and conforming changes.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Authorizes school districts, COEs, and charter schools to provide emergency naloxone or another opioid antagonist to school nurses or trained volunteer personnel for the purpose of providing emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose. (Education Code (EC) 49414.3)
2. Requires that the comprehensive school safety plan developed by school districts and COEs enrolling students in grades 7 to 12 include a protocol in the event a student is suffering or reasonably believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose. (EC 32282)
3. Requires the school safety plan developed by charter schools enrolling students in grades 7 to 12 include a protocol in the event a student is suffering or reasonably believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose. (EC 47605 and 47605.6)
4. Encourages COEs to establish a County Working Group on Fentanyl Education in Schools for outreach, building awareness, and collaborating with local health agencies regarding fentanyl overdoses and encourages the working group to include representatives of local educational agencies (LEAs) within the county as well as the county public health department. Also requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to curate and maintain on its website, informational materials containing awareness and safety advice on how to prevent an opioid overdose. (EC 49428.16)
5. Authorizes a pharmacy to furnish naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to a school district, COE, or charter school provided that the naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist is for use exclusively at the school site and if a physician provides a written order that specifies the quantity of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist is to be furnished. (Business and Professions Code (BPC) 4119.8)

FISCAL EFFECT: This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by the Office of Legislative Counsel.

COMMENTS:

Need for the bill. According to the author, “Until my neighbor, high school teen Zach Didier, lost his life to Fentanyl, I had no idea how kids were getting their hands on this poison. Zach ingested a pill of what he believed to be Percocet. As a father of four children, I can't imagine having to experience what my neighbor went through which is why I am authoring Assembly Bill 3271. According the California Department of Education in 2012, California suffered 82 tragic deaths attributed to fentanyl overdoses, and in recent years that number jumped to more than 6,000, with Fentanyl deaths accounting for more than 80 percent of all drug-related deaths among California’s young people. AB 3271 is part of my three-pronged approach to helping solve the Fentanyl crisis - accountability, education, and safety. This measure is about safety.

It is time we take the initiative to have simple and proven preventative care available to schools where our kids spend a majority of their time. Fentanyl is being disguised as candy and is readily available in every community - why aren't we putting this on every campus? I was pleased to hear that the Governor has set aside funding for this program for all middle and high school sites to maintain naloxone on campus. Unfortunately, many schools refuse to carry the product, primarily because they are unsure about statutory authority and protection from liability. We can solve that by passing AB 3271. Together, we will save lives at a nominal cost.”

Dangers associated with Fentanyl. Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as an analgesic and anesthetic. It is approximately 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. First developed in 1959, it was introduced in the 1960’s as an intravenous anesthetic. Fentanyl is legally manufactured and distributed in the United States; however, there are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illicitly manufactured fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids.

Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer. Most recently, cases of fentanyl-related overdoses are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl that is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.

Addressing Fentanyl Among California Youth. According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), fentanyl-related overdose deaths increased 625% among ages 10-19 from 2018 to 2020. In 2021, there were 224 fentanyl-related overdose deaths among teens ages 15–19 years old in California. Current law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to establish minimum training standards for school employees who volunteer to administer naloxone or another opioid antagonist. In addition to setting minimum training standards, the CDE must maintain on its website a clearinghouse for best practices in training nonmedical personnel to administer naloxone or another opioid antagonist to pupils. 

The CDE, in conjunction with the CDPH, has developed resources and information that LEAs can readily share with parents and students to help keep them safe. The Fentanyl Awareness and Prevention webpage offers information about the risks of fentanyl and how to prevent teen use and overdoses. In addition to the toolkit, the CDPH’s Substance and Addiction Prevention branch also provides resources for parents, guardians, caretakers, educators, schools, and youth-serving providers.

Reversing opioid overdoses. Naloxone is the generic name for an opioid antagonist that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. It attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. Naloxone comes in two FDA-approved forms: injectable and prepackaged nasal spray. A distribution program administered through the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) allows schools, universities, and colleges to apply for and obtain naloxone at no cost to the institution.

Some California school districts have opted to make naloxone available. The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the state’s largest school district, announced plans to stock naloxone at over 1,400 elementary, middle, and high schools in response to numerous incidents of students experiencing overdoses, including at least one death in 2022. San Diego Unified School District, the state’s second-largest school system stocks naloxone at schools with students in sixth grade or higher. Since 2020, Elk Grove Unified School District has provided naloxone to school security officers and their supervisors. In Los Angeles County, the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District trained all the district’s registered nurses on how to administer naloxone and made it available to them at that district’s high schools.

Arguments in support. The California Emergency Nurses Association writes, “For the first time in California, drug overdoses are deadlier than car accidents and homicides combined. In 2022, over 7,300 deaths have been caused by an opioid overdose with a growing number of those deaths being youth. 1 out of every 5 youth deaths is caused by an opioid overdose. Unfortunately, the potential of an opioid overdose is becoming more common as fentanyl is flooding into California and doses have been made to look like prescription drugs and even candy. This bill will help to save lives when minutes count by promoting easy access to an opioid blocker throughout our schools.”

Related legislation. AB 2429 (Alvarez) of the 2023-24 Session would require that if the governing board of a school district or the governing body of a charter school requires a course in health education for graduation from high school, it include, commencing with the 2026–27 school year, instruction on the dangers associated with fentanyl use, as specified.

AB 1915 (Arambula) of the 2023-24 Session establishes a voluntary training program for high school students in how to administer naloxone hydrochloride during an opioid overdose; requires the CDPH to develop the training and resource materials in collaboration with specified entities; and requires schools that elect to stock naloxone hydrochloride to place it in specified locations.

SB 10 (Cortese) Chapter 856, Statutes of 2023, adds to the list of requirements for a comprehensive school safety plan, a protocol in the event a pupil is suffering or is reasonably believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose.

AB 889 (Joe Patterson) Chapter 123, Statutes of 2023, requires a school district, COE, and charter school to annually inform parents or guardians of the dangers associated with using synthetic drugs at the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term and to post this information on their websites.

AB 19 (Joe Patterson) would require public schools to maintain at least two doses of naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to a person suffering from an opioid overdose. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

SB 472 (Hurtado) of the 2023-24 Session would have required each campus of a public school operated by an LEA, COE, or charter school to maintain at least two doses on its campus, and distribute, naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist pursuant to the standing order for naloxone and requires LEAs, COEs, and charter school to report to the DHCS for failure to distribute naloxone. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

AB 915 (Arambula) of the 2023-24 Session would have required the CDPH to establish, by March 1, 2025, a certification training program for public middle school and public high school students in grades 5 to 12 to gain skills in how to administer Narcan nasal spray, during an opioid overdose, and how to store and dispose of Narcan nasal spray. The bill would also authorize public middle and high schools serving pupils in any of grades 5 to 12 to voluntarily determine whether or not to host the program on their campuses. The bill would require the CDE to collaborate with drug prevention organizations, community health centers and experts, and nonprofits with related expertise to provide pupils with integrated, comprehensive, accurate, and unbiased educational materials on opioid and drug overdose prevention, opioid and drug safety, and stigma reduction.

AB 1748 (Mayes) Chapter 557, Statutes of 2016, authorizes school nurses and other trained personnel to use naloxone or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California District Attorneys Association

California Emergency Nurses Association

Orange County Sheriff’s Department

Opposition

None on file

Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Look / ED. / (916) 319-2087