SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) — A new state law will improve drug overdose education standards in K-12 schools to help students understand substance use and overdose trends.
The plan requires education on the history of drugs and health policy in Illinois and the United States, the impact of zero tolerance, and restorative justice practices.
Lawmakers filed the bill this spring in memory of Louie Miceli, who died from an overdose in 2012. His mother said young people haven't properly learned the truth about drugs or potential risks they could face. Felicia Miceli now works as a grief counselor helping families going through the same traumatic experience she did.
"Once a month, there's new families walking in with that look on their face due to their children dying from overdoses with fentanyl and xylazine in them and again saying, 'I wish my child was properly educated. I wish that I was properly educated.'"
The Illinois State Board of Education would be required to collaborate with the Department of Human Services, Department of Child and Family Services, Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council to improve the health education standards by July 1, 2024.
High school students will have the opportunity to learn how to recognize an overdose, use fentanyl test strips, and administer Naloxone. The legislation is also non-punitive, as advocates explained punitive drug policies contribute to the stigma against people with addiction.
"This law addresses the heroin and opioid addiction epidemic," said Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee). "As you know, it is an epidemic and deaths are increasing exponentially and more so because we're seeing things laced with fentanyl and individuals who maybe try a drug the very first time risk death."
The legislation passed unanimously out of the Senate and House. Senate Bill 2223 took effect immediately.
"Louie just didn't know, and neither did I," Miceli added. "It's our job to teach our youth the truth."
Copyright 2023. WAND TV. All rights reserved.
