Drug, alcohol, and anabolic steroid abuse prevention education.
(a)Every public school maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 4 shall include in its curriculum age and developmentally appropriate instruction, study, and discussion of effective methods for the prevention and avoidance of drugs and the dangers of opioid and substance abuse. School boards may include such required instruction, study, and discussion in the courses of study regularly taught in the public schools of their respective districts; however, such instruction shall be given each year to all pupils in grades kindergarten through 4. The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all public and nonpublic schools instructional materials that may be used by such schools as guidelines for th
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Drug, alcohol, and anabolic steroid abuse prevention education. (a) Every public school maintaining any of grades kindergarten through 4 shall include in its curriculum age and developmentally appropriate instruction, study, and discussion of effective methods for the prevention and avoidance of drugs and the dangers of opioid and substance abuse. School boards may include such required instruction, study, and discussion in the courses of study regularly taught in the public schools of their respective districts; however, such instruction shall be given each year to all pupils in grades kindergarten through 4. The State Superintendent of Education may prepare and make available to all public and nonpublic schools instructional materials that may be used by such schools as guidelines for the development of a program of instruction under this subsection (a); however, each school board shall itself determine the minimum amount of instruction time that shall qualify as a program of instruction that will satisfy the requirements of this subsection (a). (b) School districts shall provide age and developmentally appropriate classroom instruction on alcohol and drug use and abuse for students in grades 5 through 12. This instruction may include the information contained in the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Instruction Resource Guide under Section 22-81 of this Code, as applicable. The instruction, which shall include matters relating to both the physical and legal effects and ramifications of drug and substance abuse, shall be integrated into existing curricula; and the State Board of Education shall determine how to develop and make available to all elementary and secondary schools in this State instructional materials and guidelines that will assist the schools in incorporating the instruction into their existing curricula. In addition, school districts may offer, as part of existing curricula during the school day or as part of an after-school program, support services and instruction for pupils or pupils whose parent, parents, or guardians are chemically dependent. (c) The curriculum in grades 6 through 12 shall include instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl. Information for the instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl shall be age and developmentally appropriate and may include information contained in the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Instruction Resource Guide under Section 22-81 of this Code, as applicable. The instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl in grades 9 through 12 shall include, at a minimum, all of the following: (1) Information on fentanyl itself, including an explanation of the differences between synthetic and nonsynthetic opioids and illicit drugs, the variations of fentanyl itself, and the differences between the legal and illegal uses of fentanyl. (2) The side effects and the risk factors of using fentanyl, along with information comparing the lethal amounts of fentanyl to other drugs. Information on the risk factors may include, but is not limited to: (A) the lethal dose of fentanyl; (B) how often fentanyl is placed in drugs without a person's knowledge; (C) an explanation of what fentanyl does to a person's body and the severity of fentanyl's addictive properties; and (D) how the consumption of fentanyl can lead to hypoxia, as well as an explanation of what hypoxia precisely does to a person's body. (3) Details about the process of lacing fentanyl in other drugs and why drugs get laced with fentanyl. (4) Details about how to detect fentanyl in drugs and how to save someone from an overdose of fentanyl, which shall include: (A) how to buy and use fentanyl test strips; (B) how to buy and use naloxone, either through a nasal spray or an injection; and (C) how to detect if someone is overdosing on fentanyl. Students in grades 9 through 12 shall be assessed on the instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl. The assessment may include, but is not limited to: (i) the differences between synthetic and nonsynthetic drugs; (ii) hypoxia; (iii) the effects of fentanyl on a person's body; (iv) the lethal dose of fentanyl; and (v) how to detect and prevent overdoses. The instruction, study, and discussion on the dangers of fentanyl may be taught by a licensed educator, school nurse, school social worker, law enforcement officer, or school counselor. (d) School districts shall provide instruction in relation to the prevention of abuse of anabolic steroids in grades 7 through 12 and shall include such instruction in science, health, drug abuse, physical education, or other appropriate courses of study. School districts shall also provide this instruction to students who participate in interscholastic athletic programs. The instruction shall emphasize that the use of anabolic steroids presents a serious health hazard to persons who use steroids to enhance athletic performance or physical development. The State Board of Education may assist in the development of instructional materials and teacher training in relation to steroid abuse prevention.