By LACIE PIERSON
The Herald-Dispatch
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia Senate on Tuesday morning approved 34-0 a bill that would allow teachers and school staff who are certified to carry and administer opioid antagonists in school facilities if they so choose.
Under current state law, licensed school nurses are permitted to carry and administer naloxone if a county board of education permits it.
Senate Bill 36 will advance to the House of Delegates for consideration.
The bill also would require school district officials to keep record of each use of the opioid antagonists, more commonly referred to as naloxone or its brand name, Narcan.
The bill also provides legal protection to nurses and staff who administer naloxone, and school officials would have to notify parents if naloxone was administered to their child at school.
All public schools in Cabell County have stocked naloxone since the 2015-16 school year through a waiver from the West Virginia Department of Education, said Jedd Flowers, director of communications for Cabell County Schools.
In September 2016, the West Virginia Board of Education established the policy that allows county boards to determine whether school nurses can carry and administer naloxone.
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