§ 49-50-1604 — Guidelines regarding availability of opioid antagonists in schools

Tennessee § 49-50-1604

• Jurisdiction: Tennessee
• Title: 49

Text

(a) The state board of education, in consultation with the department of health, shall develop guidelines for the management of students presenting with a drug overdose for which administration of an opioid antagonist may be appropriate. (b) Each LEA shall implement a plan based on the guidelines developed pursuant to subsection (a) for the management of students presenting with a drug overdose. (c) (1) It is the intent of the general assembly that schools, both public and nonpublic, be prepared to treat drug overdoses in the event other appropriate healthcare responses are not available. (2) Each school within an LEA and each nonpublic school is authorized to maintain an opioid antagonist at the school in at least two (2) unlocked, secure locations, including, but not limited to, the school office and the school cafeteria, so that an opioid antagonist may be administered to any student believed to be having a drug overdose. The principal or head of a school that maintains an opioid antagonist pursuant to this subdivision (c)(2) shall ensure that the opioid antagonist is stored in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. (3) Notwithstanding any provision of title 63 to the contrary, a physician may prescribe an opioid antagonist in the name of an LEA or nonpublic school to be maintained for use in schools when necessary. An LEA also may utilize a statewide collaborative pharmacy practice agreement pursuant to § 63-1-157 to obtain an opioid antagonist for administration. (4) The school nurse, school resource officer, or other trained school personnel may utilize the LEA or nonpublic school supply of opioid antagonists to respond to a drug overdose, under a standing protocol from a physician licensed to practice medicine in all its branches. (5) If a student is injured or harmed due to the administration of an opioid antagonist that a physician has prescribed to an LEA or nonpublic school under this subsection (c), the physician shall not be held responsible for the injury unless the physician issued the prescription or standing protocol with intentional disregard for safety. (6) Similarly, if a student is injured or harmed due to the administration of an opioid antagonist to the student by a school nurse, school resource officer, or other trained school personnel under this subsection (c), the school nurse, school resource officer, or school employee shall not be held responsible for the injury unless the school nurse, school resource officer, or school employee administered the opioid antagonist with an intentional disregard for safety. (d) A school within an LEA or a nonpublic school shall not prohibit a student, employee, or visitor from possessing an opioid antagonist while the person is on school property or attending a school-sponsored activity held at a location that is not school property.

Legislative History

Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 629,s 2, eff. 3/27/2024. Amended by 2024 Tenn. Acts, ch. 629,s 1, eff. 3/27/2024. Added by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 256, s 1, eff. 7/1/2017.