A new law will now notify parents as soon as possible when there is a school-related overdose.
Governor Glenn Youngkin recently signed the bill, SB 498, into law. It allows the Virginia Department of Education to create guidelines and parental notification policies for each school board to follow when there’s a school-related overdose.
“For schools, it means that there will be an information gathering effort that they have to undergo, which they should to ensure we eradicate opioid and drugs out of our schools and keep our children safe. So, that information is then passed on to local law enforcement,” said Virginia Senator Jennifer Carroll Foy, who sponsored the bill.
Although the law goes into effect July 1, the board of education still needs to determine the guidelines.
10 News reached out to the Virginia Department of Education but hasn’t heard back yet.
Last fall, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an Executive Order that mandated schools to notify parents within 24 hours. In fact, most schools, like Roanoke City Public Schools, already do this.
However, this new law now reinforces that executive order.
Meanwhile, the Roanoke City Public Schools Memorandum of Understanding recently changed to reflect the new law.
It now states that Roanoke City’s School system, police department and sheriff’s office “shall collaborate on sharing information related to school-connected student overdoses.”
Carroll Foy said the bill will also help parents be fully informed.
“People think that they’re taking one thing, but they’re actually taking something else and the something else that they’re taking that they’re unaware of can kill them instantly. So that’s what this bill does. It’s to ensure that parents are notified and aware of school-connected overdoses. They’re able to have fully informed conversations with their children,” said Foy.