Washington public schools could soon be required to teach about the dangers of the deadly drug fentanyl, after a bill that passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on Friday heads to the Senate.
House Bill of 1956 would require schools to provide education about fentanyl and other opioids in health classes to as many seventh- and ninth-graders as possible during the remainder of the 2024-2025 school year, and every year thereafter. Requires education to be provided to grades 9 and 9.
The bill will be heard in the Senate on Thursday. If the bill is passed and signed by Gov. Jay Inslee, it would go into effect immediately.
The number of people under 24 who died from overdoses in Washington state has increased sixfold since 2017, with a total of more than 190 deaths in 2022. More than 90% of those deaths were due to fentanyl overdose, according to Inslee's report. office.
Last year, 16 people under the age of 20 died from fentanyl overdoses in King County. So far this year, there have been two fentanyl-related deaths of people under the age of 20, according to the King County Health Department. These numbers do not include young people who may have overdosed outside the county and died in King County.
“Our young people have no idea what they're getting into,” said Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-University Place, a co-sponsor of the bill. “They don't know that they think it's Percocet or Adderall and they're inadvertently picking up a drug that could have a different effect.”
Levitt said he began learning how inconsistent drug education in Washington schools was after one of his constituents' 16-year-old sons overdosed on fentanyl while trying to use marijuana. .
“I heard stories from parents who lost their children.” [to fentanyl] … Their comments have a theme of “I didn't know'' and “I wish I knew,'' Leavitt said. “It became really clear that we have to have conversations with young people about the public use of fentanyl.”
The bill would require the Office of Public Instruction, in collaboration with the State Department of Health, to provide schools with educational materials about the risks of fentanyl and other opioid use, to include knowledge about fentanyl, opioids, and opioids. Learning standards for health education will be adjusted. The bill also requires OSPI and other agencies to review drug use prevention educational materials and resources at least annually to ensure that the materials contain up-to-date information.
OSPI spokeswoman Katie Payne said the health education learning standards address hazardous substance prevention and healthy decision-making for all students, so the topic of fentanyl is being discussed in other grades starting with seventh and ninth grade. He said that there is a possibility that it will be taken up.
The bill would also encourage schools to collaborate with drug use prevention experts from the state's nine Educational Service Districts, regional agencies that help districts plan together.
Schools across the state will have to adapt to varying degrees, as each district's approach to fentanyl education varies widely.
“This problem is global,” said Rep. Dan Griffey (R-Allyn), the bill's other co-sponsor. Griffey's district covers the southeastern Olympic Peninsula and parts of southern Olympia, and he and other sponsors hope to send a consistent message across the district.
“We need someone like Nancy Reagan on fentanyl right now,” Griffey said, referring to the former first lady whose anti-drug campaign was one of her signature efforts during her tenure in the White House. did. “We need someone who can get into your mind's eye and hear you when you're reaching out to get your medicine. What you get from a bill like this is a consistent narrative. ”
Some school districts, such as Seattle Public Schools, have already instituted mandatory drug use education, including discussion of fentanyl in seventh and ninth grades. SPS also carries out campaigns such as the Drug Enforcement Administration's “One Pill Can Kill” and “Laced & Lethal” at some school assemblies.
SPS also has prevention and intervention specialists in all 12 middle schools and two high schools.
Other school districts, like Issaquah, teach health once in high school, but not necessarily in ninth grade. In that health class, students are taught about drugs as a category, but fentanyl is not specifically discussed. But the district also partnered with the DEA to hold meetings and panel discussions about the dangers of fentanyl for most middle and high school students.
Although Issaquah does not employ abuse intervention specialists, the district does have a mental health counselor who is also certified as a clinical social worker. These counselors can support students with substance use issues.
The Lake Washington School District offers drug use education to seventh and ninth graders, but fentanyl is not included in the curriculum at this time. If the bill passes, the curriculum team will soon evaluate information about fentanyl, a district spokesperson said.
The Pomeroy School District, located in the southeastern part of the state, does not have classes specifically teaching about fentanyl, but the district does have abuse intervention specialists.
The Cascade School District, located just outside of Leavenworth, teaches substance use education.
“Schools are probably already doing education to prevent the use of fentanyl and other opioids because we really don't want our students to experience negative or physical harm,” Cascade Superintendent Tracy Edow said in an email. I think it is,” he wrote. “However, we can always improve.”
Griffey called fentanyl “a real substance that can kill you with just one pill.”
“We have to break away from any notion that it's safe to share individually prescribed pills,” he says. “They're all prescribed for a reason, they're all taken under medical supervision, and it's dangerous to share any type of pill.”
The bill is expected to cost about $3.7 million a year to implement, Levitt said. Most of that money will go to the Department of Health, and just over $300,000 a year will go to his OSPI.
“[School districts] We all care deeply about this,” said Levitt, the bill’s Democratic sponsor. “They don't want to lose any students to fentanyl. They don't want to lose any students at all costs. But every student in every school district, every school, is aware of the dangers of fentanyl. I believe we need a learning system.”
Until now, the only requirement for school districts was a law signed by Inslee in May 2019 that requires districts with 2,000 or more students to administer at least one set of opioid overdose medication at each high school. there were.
There is currently a bill in the Senate that would require all high schools, not just large ones, to have opioid overdose medication on hand.
“I have a strong sense of urgency about this issue,” Levitt said. “We lost their souls because we didn't do enough to prevent it. [are] Not enough efforts are being made to educate our youth and families. ”
“This is an emergency and we cannot wait any longer,” Griffey said.
