BILL NUMBER: S9272
SPONSOR: FERNANDEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to expanding opioid over-
dose prevention measures in certain settings
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill would require school districts, public libraries, boards of
cooperative educational services, county vocational education and exten-
sion boards, charter schools and non-public elementary and public
schools to stock opioid antagonists.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends section 922 of the education law to require
schools to stock opioid antagonists.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Existing state law allows school districts to keep, maintain and admin-
ister opioid antagonists for emergency situations, however, the law does
not require that they do so. New York had approximately 5,388 opioid-re-
lated overdose deaths in 2022 and there was a 68 percent increase in
deaths from 2019 to 2021. Synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, were
involved in 78 percent of all drug overdoses in 2021. Not unlike having
EpiPens for allergic reactions or defibrillators for cardiac arrest,
having access to opioid antagonists is a necessary part of being
prepared for medical emergencies in schools and could save lives.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall become effective 180 days after becoming law.

Statutes affected:
S9272: 922 education law