Existing law authorizes a school district, county office of education, and charter school to provide emergency naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to school nurses and trained personnel who have volunteered, and authorizes school nurses and trained personnel to use naloxone hydrochloride or another opioid antagonist to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering, or reasonably believed to be suffering, from an opioid overdose.

This bill, to be known as the School Safety and Opioid Overdose Prevention Act, and commencing with the 2027–28 school year, would require a school resource officer, as defined, to (1) upon assignment to a schoolsite, and at least every 2 years thereafter, complete an opioid overdose recognition and response training, as specified, and (2) annually report to the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, among other things, the number of times the school resource officer administered an opioid antagonist while serving at a schoolsite. The bill would prohibit a school resource officer who administers an opioid antagonist while assigned to a schoolsite, and their employing or contracting entity, from being held liable in a civil action or being subject to criminal prosecution for the school resource officer’s acts or omissions, unless those acts or omissions constitute gross negligence or willful and wanton misconduct, as provided.

The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the State Department of Education and the commission, to provide implementation guidance to local educational agencies and law enforcement agencies on accessing opioid antagonists at low or no cost and integrating overdose response into school safety planning. The bill would require the commission, on or before January 1, 2031, and in cooperation with the State Department of Public Health, as needed, to submit a report to the Legislature with the information annually reported by school resource officers.