Earlier this year, The Mercury News made an alarming discovery after polling 33 Bay Area school districts: More than a third hadn’t trained teachers and staff to recognize the signs of students overdosing on fentanyl. Additionally, more than a quarter of the surveyed districts hadn’t made naloxone readily available in schools, despite the fact that the opioid antagonist can rapidly stop the types of fentanyl overdoses that are killing 18 Californians each day.
Why? Does another child need to die on campus before we change our policies?
California can no longer justify withholding knowledge and tools that can save young lives. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin, has exploded across California. The drug is now responsible for one in every five deaths among young people, surpassing the combined total of all other drugs. In my legislative district of Santa Clara County, the number of young lives lost to fentanyl spiked an astonishing 365% in recent years. According to the latest available data, 135 young people died of fentanyl in 2021 alone.
The fentanyl epidemic is so insidious because drug traffickers are lacing it into counterfeit versions of popular recreational drugs such as Adderall, oxycodone and Xanax. Young people can easily find and purchase these seemingly less-dangerous drugs online and share them. Teens under peer pressure to swallow a drug may unknowingly ingest fentanyl, and without medical intervention, the situation can quickly turn fatal. Even a tiny dose of fentanyl — the equivalent of five grains of salt — can be lethal.
Fortunately, here in Santa Clara County, we are leading the safety response to prevent more student deaths, and I’ve authored legislation to scale our program statewide. Last year, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, District Attorney Jeff Rosen, County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan, County Behavioral Health and others came together to launch the Santa Clara County Fentanyl Working Group with a mission to ensure that every school was prepared to recognize fentanyl overdoses and take action to save young lives. Teachers received educational materials to share with families and naloxone kits to prevent deaths on campus. Students learned about the dangers and prevalence of fentanyl-laced pills. And in a span of one month, the initiative saved the lives of two overdosing students in San Jose.
This year, I’ve authored Senate Bill (SB) 10 to comprehensively address the fentanyl crisis in schools statewide. The bill requires that school safety plans, already mandated in every school, be modified to include concrete strategies for the prevention and treatment of student opioid overdoses, including training for teachers and other school employees. SB 10 will raise awareness among school staff, students and their families about the growing opioid epidemic. It will also give educators and other school staff the necessary knowledge and tools to protect students.
My bipartisan bill, which is supported by California’s teachers and other school and student groups, aligns with the recently passed state budget that ensures that every middle and high school can easily access and afford naloxone, commonly known under its brand name Narcan.
SB 10 is named after Melanie Ramos, a teenage girl who died of a fentanyl overdose last year. Melanie believed she was taking a Percocet and was found dead in the bathroom of her Hollywood high school. Melanie’s legacy will be one of relief for parents who will never receive that dreaded call from a school informing them that their teenager was found unresponsive. Let’s immediately bring lifesaving training and resources to schools and do everything in our power to prevent more overdoses.
Dave Cortese represents District 15 in the California State Senate.