Denver City Wire

According to a Sept. 26 news release, U.S. Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Joe Neguse announced a bill to allow schools to use emergency COVID-19 funds for fentanyl education.

“The fact that children are dying from fentanyl overdoses in schools around the country is absolutely unacceptable,” Lamborn said in the news release. “While overdoses due to fentanyl are becoming more common among our youth, research shows that the availability of naloxone, along with overdose education, is effective at saving lives. This legislation will ensure that schools have the prevention tools and education necessary to protect our most vulnerable population from the growing fentanyl epidemic. I am glad to sponsor this critical legislation and thank my colleagues in Congress, including fellow Coloradan Joe Neguse, for making this a bipartisan effort.”

The bill, H.R. 8968 would allow states to use unspent COVID-19 elementary and secondary school emergency relief funds to purchase life-saving opioid antagonists and to provide related training and education to students and teachers. It was introduced on Sept. 22, and referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor that day.

“Throughout Colorado, fentanyl-related overdoses have increased exponentially, and the impact this crisis has had on families across our state is truly devastating,” Neguse said. “The Protecting Kids from Fentanyl Act is a bipartisan solution that will empower our K-12 schools to tackle this emergency. Everyone – especially our children – deserve to live in a safe community, and this bill helps achieve that goal.”

In May, Gov. Jared Polis signed a law that made it a felony to have more than one gram of a substance containing fentanyl, according to Colorado Newsline.