Bill Text: IL SB2223 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Chaptered


Bill Title: Amends the School Code. Provides that by July 1, 2024, the State Board of Education and the Department of Human Services shall work in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council, to develop and update substance use prevention and recovery resource materials for public elementary and secondary schools (instead of requiring the State Board and Department to develop and establish a heroin and opioid drug prevention program that offers educational materials and instruction on heroin and opioid abuse to all school districts in the State for use at their respective public elementary and secondary schools). Provides that a Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Instruction Resource Guide shall be made available on the State Board of Education's Internet website and shall be sent via electronic mail to all regional offices of education and school districts in this State. Sets forth provisions concerning the Resource Guide. Provides that, subject to appropriation, the Department shall reimburse a grantee for any costs associated with facilitating a heroin and opioid overdose prevention instructional program for school districts seeking to provide instruction under this type of program (instead of reimburse a school district that decides to participate in the program for any costs it incurs in connection with its participation in the program). Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 40-5)

Status: (Passed) 2023-07-28 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0399 [SB2223 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB2223-Chaptered.html



Public Act 103-0399
SB2223 EnrolledLRB103 28093 RJT 54472 b
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
referred to as Louie's Law.
Section 5. The School Code is amended by changing Section
22-81 as follows:
(105 ILCS 5/22-81)
Sec. 22-81. Drug education and youth overdose prevention
Heroin and opioid prevention program. By July 1, 2024, the The
State Board of Education and the Department of Human Services
shall work in consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory
Council, to develop and update substance use prevention and
recovery resource materials for public elementary and
secondary schools. A Substance Use Prevention and Recovery
Instruction Resource Guide shall be made available on the
State Board of Education's Internet website and shall be sent
via electronic mail to all regional offices of education and
school districts in this State. The Resource Guide shall
provide guidance for school districts and educators regarding
student instruction in the topics of substance use prevention
and recovery at an age and developmentally appropriate level
and shall be reviewed and updated appropriately based on new
findings and trends as determined by the State Board of
Education or the Department of Human Services develop and
establish a heroin and opioid drug prevention program that
offers educational materials and instruction on heroin and
opioid abuse to all school districts in the State for use at
their respective public elementary and secondary schools. A
school district's use of the Resource Guide participation in
the program shall be voluntary. All resources and
recommendations within the Resource Guide shall align with the
substance use prevention and recovery related topics within
the Illinois Learning Standards for Physical Development and
Health and the State of Illinois Opioid Action Plan. The
Resource Guide shall, at a minimum, include all the following:
(1) Age-appropriate, comprehensive, reality-based,
safety-focused, medically accurate and evidence-informed
information that reduces substance-use risk factors and
promotes protective factors.
(2) Information about where to locate stories and
perspectives of people with lived experiences for
incorporation into classroom instruction.
(3) Resources regarding how to make substance use
prevention and recovery instruction interactive at each
grade level.
(4) Information on how school districts may involve
parents, caregivers, teachers, healthcare providers, and
community members in the instructional process.
(5) Ways to create instructional programs that are
representative of diverse demographic groups and
appropriate for each age, grade, and culture represented
in classrooms in this State.
(6) Resources that reflect the prevention continuum
from universal to selected tactics that address young
people's substance use, and current and projected
substance use and overdose trends.
(7) Citations and references the most up-to-date
version of the State of Illinois Overdose Action Plan.
(8) Resources that reflect the importance of education
for youth, their 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 this
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 trauma, 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
behavior in non-punitive ways to help oneself or
others.
Subject to appropriation, the Department of Human Services
shall reimburse a grantee for any costs associated with
facilitating a heroin and opioid overdose prevention
instructional program for school districts seeking to provide
instruction under this type of program a school district that
decides to participate in the program for any costs it incurs
in connection with its participation in the program. Each
school district that seeks to participate participates in the
program shall have the discretion to determine which grade
levels the school district will instruct under the program.
The program must use effective, research-proven,
interactive teaching methods and technologies, and must
provide students, parents, and school staff with scientific,
social, and emotional learning content to help them understand
the risk of drug use. Such learning content must specifically
target the dangers of prescription pain medication and heroin
abuse. The Department may contract with a health education
organization to fulfill the requirements of the program.
(Source: P.A. 102-894, eff. 5-20-22.)
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