School opioid overdose reversal grants

Full Title:
HERO Act

Summary#

This bill creates a one-year competitive grant program to help schools buy opioid overdose reversal drugs (FDA-approved drugs) and to fund related education. It also requires schools that receive federal funds to report any distribution of an overdose reversal drug to two federal overdose/EMS data systems. The broad goal is to equip schools to respond to opioid overdoses and to collect data on such events.

  • Main change: New grants from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with Education, to buy approved opioid overdose reversal drugs and to develop educational programming and emergency-response plans for school staff.
  • Reporting requirement: Schools that get federal funds must report any distribution of an overdose reversal drug to NEMSIS and to ODMAP.
  • Who can apply: Local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, consortia of LEAs, and private elementary and secondary schools.
  • Priority & duration: Grants give priority to schools in areas with high opioid overdose rates and last 1 year.
  • Follow-up reports: Grant recipients must report to HHS about drug use and training; HHS must report summaries to Congress annually starting two years after enactment.

What it means for you#

  • Schools and school staff

    • Eligible public LEAs, charter LEAs, and private schools can apply for one-year grants to buy FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal drugs (for example, naloxone) and to pay for related training and materials.
    • Schools receiving a grant must work with their local health department to create or update a comprehensive emergency response plan for staff.
    • Schools must develop or provide educational programming on CPR, drug-use prevention and intervention, and emergency overdose responses.
    • Any school that receives federal funds (whether it has a grant or not) must submit a description of any distribution of an overdose reversal drug to two federal systems (NEMSIS and ODMAP). The bill does not specify exactly when or how often those descriptions must be submitted.

  • Students and families

    • Students may benefit indirectly if more schools keep overdose reversal drugs on site and staff get training in CPR and overdose response.

  • Local health departments

    • Schools that get grants must consult with local health departments when creating emergency response plans.

  • Federal agencies

    • HHS (through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use) will run the grant competition, collect reports from grantees, and submit annual summary reports to Congress in consultation with Education.
    • The requirement to report to NEMSIS and ODMAP means those data systems will receive additional school-sourced data about overdose-reversal drug distributions.

Expenses#

No publicly available information.

  • The bill creates grant funding but does not include a dollar amount in the text provided. This means total federal spending is not specified in the available material.
  • Administrative costs: HHS and Education will need staff time and systems to run the grant program, review applications, collect grantee reports, and prepare annual summaries for Congress.
  • Compliance costs for schools: Preparing applications, consulting with local health departments, developing plans and training, and reporting distributions to NEMSIS and ODMAP will require staff time and possibly new processes or software.
  • Local health departments may incur time costs when consulting with schools on emergency plans.

Proponents' View#

  • The bill appears intended to increase access to FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal drugs in schools so staff can respond quickly to overdoses.
  • It appears designed to improve school preparedness by requiring emergency response plans developed with local health departments.
  • The bill could be seen as improving awareness and skills through educational programming on CPR, prevention, and overdose response.
  • Collecting reports to NEMSIS and ODMAP could be seen as improving data on where and when overdose-reversal drugs are used in schools, which may help public health planning and resource targeting.
  • Priority for areas with high overdose rates targets limited funds where need is greatest.

Opponents' View#

  • One concern is that the bill does not set or authorize a specific dollar amount for the grants, so it is unclear how many schools could be funded or how long support would continue beyond the one-year grant period.
  • The reporting requirement lacks detail on timing, format, and privacy protections for submitting “any distribution” to NEMSIS and ODMAP; this may raise questions about student privacy and administrative burden.
  • The one-year grant period may limit longer-term sustainability of purchasing and replenishing drugs, ongoing training, and program maintenance.
  • The bill does not address liability protections or legal questions for school staff who administer overdose reversal drugs; it does not clarify whether existing state laws are sufficient.
  • Schools without grant funding could still face new reporting requirements and related administrative costs with no federal funding to cover them.