BURIEN, Wash. — Highline Public Schools has made opioid overdose reversal medication available in its elementary and middle schools.
The district said in a release Wednesday that school nurses and identified staff got training in identifying to and responding to potential overdoses.
Narcan, which is the brand name for the medication naloxone, has already been available in Highline’s high schools for three years, and now it is expanded to elementary and middle schools.
The move comes after Gov. Jay Inslee signed a new law in March requiring all public schools in Washington to carry at least one set of opioid overdose reversal medication.
It’s part of a larger push to combat the opioid epidemic in Washington state. According to the state Department of Health, Washington saw more than 2,700 overdose deaths in 2022; 68% of them were from fentanyl. The death rate on Native American reservations is four times the state average.
Narcan is being used more frequently in Washington schools. Reporting from our sister station KGW cited a statewide survey that found Narcan usage in Washington schools increased 600% between the 2021-22 and 2023-23 school years. In the 2022-23 school year, Issaquah School District administered Narcan four times – the most of a single district across the state.
More recently, Highline was one of the districts that had to use the medication. In May, the B-Town Blog reported Highline High School administered Narcan to a teenage boy who was unconscious and unresponsive during an overdose.
The district said expanded Narcan access is just one of the tools it’s using to address opioid concerns. It also said continued education and discussion around opioid use is important.
Eric Wilkinson contributed to this report.