Student’s Death Renews Calls to Stock Narcan in Schools

ALONG WITH EDUCATION? –

Jan. 25, 2022 –

What they’re saying: “[National Association of School Nurses] supports safe and effective management of opioid-related overdoses in schools through incorporating emergency rescue medication into school emergency preparedness and response plans,” the association said in a statement Monday. The association said it doesn’t have data on the number of schools and school districts who currently have adopted naloxone use and training in schools. NASN has advocated for naloxone use in school settings since at least 2015.

By the numbers: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in December that drug overdoses among people between ages 15 and 24 increased by 49% between 2019 and 2020, The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimated that at least 3,391 people between 15 and 24 died from opioid overdoses in 2019, it’s unknown how many of those deaths occurred in schools settings.

The big picture: At least 27 states had passed laws that at minimum required schools to create a policy concerning the use of naloxone as of September 2020, according to a reportfrom the Legislative Analysis and Public Policy Association, an advocacy group.