Washington state school drug problem, Drug overdose prevention in schools, Two bills to combat drugs in schools have been submitted in the Washington Senate.
Press releases report that on Thursday, the state Senate of Washington received two legislation pertaining to combating drug use and overdoses in schools. The first bill, Senate Bill 5804, mandates that school districts of all sizes have access to the opioid overdose treatment in order to boost the number of NARCAN dosages available in high schools.
According to a press release from Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), the existing regulations only mandate that school districts with more than 2,000 kids maintain a NARCAN supply on hand. “We have a moral obligation to protect our pupils’ health, safety, and wellbeing.
Particularly those who battle with challenging life situations,” Sen. Kuderer remarked. “It goes without saying that we all hope we never need to use this. However, there is a chance for grownups to be ready and spare children’s lives.”
Senate Bill 5923, the second bill, would modernise drug misuse prevention education by adding additional details about the dangers of fentanyl and other opioid use.
In a news release, Sen. Lisa Wellman (D-Mercer Island) stated that the number of opioid overdose deaths in Washington has “increased dramatically” and that, on average, two overdose deaths occurred every day in 2023. Today’s topic was school security.
The school MUST be a safe place. That much is clear. Sen. Wellman declared, “That is the only way to learn.” “Keeping pupils safe and teaching them how to REMAIN safe is our basic responsibility to them. That was the subject of this bill as well as a number of other proposals considered in committee today.”