SB2223 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 28093 RJT 54472 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2223

Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Laura Fine

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Drug Education and Youth Overdose Prevention Act. Provides that the State Board of Education shall collaborate with the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Division of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Child and Family Services, the Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council to develop improved K-12 health education standards. Provides that the improved K-12 health education standards shall be comprehensive, reality-based, safety-focused, and evidence-based standards that reduce substance use risk factors and promote protective factors. the State Board of Education shall update state-mandated K-12 health education standards. Sets forth other requirements for the updated standards.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. Short title; reference to Act. This Act may be cited as the Drug Education and Youth Overdose Prevention Act. This Act may be referred to as Louie's Law.

Section 5. Drug and youth overdose education.

(a) The State Board of Education shall collaborate with the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Division of the Department of Human Services, the Department of Child and Family Services, the Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council to develop improved K-12 health education standards. The improved K-12 health education standards shall be comprehensive, reality-based, safety-focused, and evidence-based standards that reduce substance use risk factors and promote protective factors.

(b) Within 12 months after the effective date of this Act, the State Board of Education shall update State-mandated K-12 health education standards developed under subsection (a). The updated K-12 health education standards shall:

(1) feature stories and perspectives of people with lived experiences;

(2) involve youth who do and do not attend school;

(3) include discussions, activities, and games;

(4) involve parents, caregivers, teachers, healthcare providers, and community members;

(5) be representative of diverse demographic groups;

(6) be age, grade, demographically, and culturally appropriate; and

(7) reflect the prevention continuum from universal to selected tactics that address young people's substance use, current and projected substance use and overdose trends, and the most up-to-date version of the Illinois State Opioid Overdose Action Plan to educate youth, families, and their community about:

(A) substance types, the substance use continuum, the impact of substances on the brain and body, and contributing factors that lead to substance use, such as underlying co-occurring health issues and trauma;

(B) the history of drugs and health policy in the State and the country, the impact of zero tolerance, and restorative justice practices;

(C) risk mitigation and harm reduction, including abstinence and responding to an overdose with the use of naloxone and fentanyl test strips;

(D) addressing adverse childhood experiences, such as witnessing and experiencing violence, abuse, caregiver loss, and other traumas, especially among young people of color;

(E) the social and health inequities among racial and ethnic minorities; and

(F) strategies and resources for coping with stress, trauma, substance use, and other risky behaviors in non-punitive ways to help oneself or others.

The updated standards shall also align with Section 22-81 of the School Code. The updated K-12 health education standards shall be sent to every school district and shall be available on the State Board of Education's website.