Parental notification, Narcan policies among several bills Virginia lawmakers introduce to fight fentanyl crisis
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RICHMOND, Va. (DC News Now) — In the first days of the 2024 Virginia General Assembly session, several lawmakers have proposed measures to help the Commonwealth in the fight against the fentanyl crisis.
Among the proposed laws is the codification of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s November 2023 Executive Order that would notify parents about all overdoses that happen at school.
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A pair of bills introduced by Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy (D-Prince William, Fairfax) and Del. Amanda Batten (R-James City, New Kent, Williamsburg) would require each school division to notify parents of any “school-connected overdose” within 24 hours of learning of the overdose.
In addition, it would include the creation of a model action plan and criteria to ensure sensitive information would be kept private.
A “school-connected overdose” is defined in the bill as an overdose that occurs during – or after – school hours on school premises, or at a school-sanctioned activity — regardless of whether it is on or off-campus.
That is far from the only fentanyl-related measure proposed in Richmond this week.
Del. Kannan Srinivasan (D-Loudoun) and Sen. Saddam Salim (D-Fairfax, Falls Church) proposed a joint resolution to order the Joint Commission on Health Care to study policy solutions to the fentanyl crisis.
According to the bill, 2,490 fatal drug overdoses occurred in Virginia in 2022 — and roughly eight in 10 of them were caused by fentanyl, fentanyl analogs and tramadol.
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There are also several bills surrounding Naloxone, the overdose-reversal nasal spray.
Those bills include measures to ensure at least two doses are kept at each secondary school in Virginia; a requirement that every secondary school employee is trained and certified to use Naloxone; and the implementation of an opioid overdose prevention and reversal training program to be completed by students before 10th grade.
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