Senate education committee adopts substitute for House Bill 57 on school overdose-reversal drug policy
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Summary
At a third hearing the Senate Education Committee adopted a substitute to House Bill 57 that shifts who adopts districts' policies on overdose reversal drugs, changes reporting timing and restricts donated funds to purchases of those drugs.
The Senate Education Committee on third hearing adopted a substitute to House Bill 57 that changes which local governing body adopts policy on schools' use of overdose-reversal drugs and adjusts reporting and funding rules.
The substitute bill, moved by Vice Chair Blessing and adopted without objection, makes four main changes to the original proposal. "It does 4 main things," Blessing told the committee when explaining the amendment. The changes: transfer authority to adopt and implement a district policy from the superintendent to the district school board; require the Department of Education and Workforce, in consultation with the Department of Health, to create a policy that schools may adopt; change the superintendent reporting requirement so reports on use of overdose-reversal drugs go to the Department of Education and Workforce annually rather than immediately after each use; and clarify that funds donated to schools for purchase of overdose-reversal drugs may be used only for that purpose with schools required to track expenditures of those funds.
The committee recorded no roll-call vote on the substitute in the hearing transcript; the chair announced adoption after asking if there were objections. The committee also noted proponent written testimony on file. The action concluded the bill's third hearing before the committee recessed for summer adjournment.
The bill text cited in committee identifies the Department of Education and Workforce and the Department of Health as the state agencies with roles in producing the model policy; the substitute assigns adoption authority to local district school boards rather than to individual superintendents. The substitute also changes the timing and scope of reporting and places a restriction and tracking requirement on donations specified for overdose-reversal drugs.
No formal vote tally was recorded in the transcript excerpt and no statutory citations beyond the bill number were cited during the explanation. The committee chair concluded the item and proceeded to the next agenda item.