To amend section 3313.6022 and to enact sections 3313.7119, 3313.7120, 3314.148, 3326.62, and 3328.40 of the Revised Code regarding school policies on the administration of overdose reversal drugs and limits on student attendance in released time courses in religious instruction.
HB57 requires school districts and certain nonpublic and specialized schools that choose to keep an overdose reversal drug on hand for emergency use to adopt policies governing how the supply is maintained and used. For school districts, the superintendent must implement a policy that sets the amount of drug to be stored at each school, requires secure but accessible storage, and identifies any required staff training. The bill also allows school boards and comparable school operators to accept donations of money to buy overdose reversal drugs.
The bill further requires prompt reporting after an overdose reversal drug is used in an emergency. The superintendent must notify the Department of Education and Workforce, the local board of education, and the student’s parent or guardian. If a district identifies a persistent pattern of overdoses at its schools, the superintendent must notify all parents or guardians of students enrolled in the district. The bill applies these requirements not only to city, local, exempted village, and joint vocational districts, but also to chartered and nonchartered nonpublic schools, community schools, STEM schools, and college-preparatory boarding schools that elect to maintain such a supply.
HB57 would add new sections to the Revised Code governing school-level policies for overdose reversal drugs, creating uniform requirements for storage, training, reporting, and parent notification across multiple types of schools. It would not require schools to stock the medication, but if a school elects to do so under existing law, it must follow the new policy framework. The bill also expands the ability of school entities to accept donations for purchasing overdose reversal drugs, which could affect school health and safety practices and administrative procedures statewide.
The available voting history suggests broad support for the bill. It advanced out of the House Education Committee unanimously and passed the House and Senate with large majorities, indicating general agreement that schools should have clear rules for emergency overdose response. The lack of recorded committee transcript discussion limits insight into detailed debate, but the vote margins suggest the measure was viewed as a practical school safety and public health policy rather than a controversial change.
The main policy questions likely concern how schools should store and administer overdose reversal drugs, what training should be required, and how much discretion local districts should have in setting supply levels and implementation details. Another possible point of concern is the parent-notification requirement after repeated overdoses, which balances transparency with privacy and student welfare. Because the bill applies to a wide range of public and nonpublic schools that opt into maintaining a supply, any disagreement would likely center on administrative burden, local control, and the scope of emergency preparedness obligations rather than on whether overdose response is important.