II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2946 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide funding for trained 

school personnel to administer drugs and devices for emergency treatment 

of known or suspected opioid overdose, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 27 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. SCOTT of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide funding 

for trained school personnel to administer drugs and 

devices for emergency treatment of known or suspected 

opioid overdose, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘School Access to 

5 Naloxone Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR REDUCING OPIOID OVERDOSE 

2 DEATHS. 

3 (a) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 544(c) of the Public 

4 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–3(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘or admin6 istering’’ after ‘‘prescribing’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or on the 

8 administration of’’ after ‘‘prescribing of’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 544(g) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

11 290dd–3(g)) is amended by striking ‘‘to carry out this sec12 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘to carry out this section and section 

13 544A’’. 

14 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR REDUCING OPIOID OVERDOSE 

15 DEATHS IN ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY 

16 SCHOOLS. 

17 Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended 

18 by inserting after section 544 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 290dd–3) the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 544A. REDUCING OPIOID OVERDOSE DEATHS IN ELE21 MENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS. 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants 

23 to eligible entities to provide for the administration, at 

24 public and private elementary and secondary schools under 

25 the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, of drugs and devices 


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1 for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid 

2 overdose. 

3 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.—To seek a grant under this sec4 tion, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 

5 application at such time, in such manner, and con6 taining— 

7 ‘‘(1) the information required under section 

8 544(b); 

9 ‘‘(2) the certifications specified in subsection 

10 (c); and 

11 ‘‘(3) such other information as the Secretary 

12 shall require. 

13 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATIONS.—The certifications specified 

14 in this subsection, with respect to each elementary school 

15 and secondary school in the eligible entity’s jurisdiction, 

16 are the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) The school has in place a program under 

18 which the school will permit trained personnel of the 

19 school to administer drugs or devices for purposes of 

20 providing emergency treatment of known or sus21 pected opioid overdose. 

22 ‘‘(2) The school will maintain a supply of such 

23 drugs and devices in a location that is easily acces24 sible to trained personnel of the school for the pur25 pose of administering such drugs and devices. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The school has in place a plan for having 

2 on the premises of the school during all operating 

3 hours one or more individuals who are such trained 

4 personnel. 

5 ‘‘(4) The State attorney general of the State in 

6 which the school is located certifies that the State— 

7 ‘‘(A) has reviewed any applicable civil li8 ability protection law to determine the applica9 tion of such law with regard to elementary and 

10 secondary school trained personnel who may ad11 minister drugs and devices for emergency treat12 ment in the case of a known or suspected opioid 

13 overdose; and 

14 ‘‘(B) has concluded that such law provides 

15 adequate civil liability protection applicable to 

16 such trained personnel. 

17 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘civil liability protection law’ 

19 means a State law offering legal protection to indi20 viduals who give aid in an emergency to an indi21 vidual who is ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘eligible entity’ has the meaning 

23 given to such term in section 544. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘trained personnel’ means, with 

2 respect to an elementary or secondary school, an in3 dividual— 

4 ‘‘(A) who is a school nurse or other indi5 vidual designated by the principal or other ap6 propriate administrative staff of the school to 

7 administer drugs or devices for emergency 

8 treatment in the case of a known or suspected 

9 opioid overdose; 

10 ‘‘(B) who has received training in the ad11 ministration of such drugs or devices; and 

12 ‘‘(C) whose training in the administration 

13 of such drugs or devices meets appropriate 

14 medical standards and has been documented by 

15 appropriate administrative staff of the school.’’. 

Æ 


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