Alabama middle and high schoolers will start receiving mandatory education on the dangers of fentanyl this school year, as other states look at similar measures to teach children about overdose and prevention.
Students in sixth through 12th grade in Alabama will be instructed on “fentanyl prevention and drug poisoning awareness” after Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) signed HB 280 into law in May.
According to the law, students will learn about preventing fentanyl addiction and abuse, resources available to students at school and in the local community, and health education on addiction and substance abuse.
The instruction comes as fentanyl was involved in 84% of teenage overdose deaths in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the number of overdose deaths among children and teenagers has increased.
Since 2019, Alabama high schools have had access to kits with naloxone (brand name Narcan), the opioid overdose reversal drug. While it is not mandatory for schools to keep the drug on campus, 90% of high schools reported stocking naloxone in 2022, which decreased to 75% in 2023. In 2022, the overdose treatment was administered 15 times statewide.
