Sponsors (2)
The bill improves on-campus overdose prevention and response by requiring naloxone availability, training, and reporting at HEA-funded institutions, but does so at modest fiscal and administrative cost to colleges and with some privacy/liability trade-offs for responders.
Students, campus residents, and campus visitors gain faster access to naloxone and campus emergency responders are required to carry kits, increasing the likelihood of reversing opioid overdoses and enabling immediate on-campus response.
Institutions must publish kit locations and provide naloxone training during student orientation, improving awareness, preparedness, and bystander capability to respond to overdoses on campus.
The requirement applies to federally HEA-funded institutions, using existing federal funding oversight to deploy a public-health intervention across many campuses.
Public colleges and universities will incur added costs to purchase, store, and replace naloxone kits, which may strain already tight institutional budgets and potentially require new spending or reallocation of funds.
Campus health centers and EMS must administer training, registration, and reporting tasks, increasing administrative workload and operational complexity for institutions.
Public placement and use of medical kits may raise privacy and liability concerns for individuals who respond to overdoses or for those whose encounters become publicly documented.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires public colleges and universities receiving HEA funds to place HHS‑labeled opioid overdose rescue kits across campus, register locations, provide orientation training, and maintain kits within one year.
Introduced April 27, 2026 by Monica De La Cruz · Last progress April 27, 2026
Requires public colleges and universities that receive federal Higher Education Act funds to have HHS‑labeled opioid overdose rescue kits available across campus within one year of enactment. Kits must be placed in classrooms, libraries, labs, dorms (including dining areas), and other instructional or housing spaces; placed near AEDs where feasible; and carried by campus emergency medical services personnel. Institutions must register and publish kit locations with campus health centers or EMS, replace used or expired kits, and provide training on kit use and location during each student orientation. The bill adopts the HEA definition of “institution of higher education” and defines an opioid overdose rescue kit as an HHS‑labeled kit containing naloxone (Narcan) or another FDA‑approved opioid antagonist.