Synthetic opioid misuse and overdose education, awareness, and prevention pilot program

(a) In general The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall administer a pilot program to provide financial assistance to eligible partnerships for the prevention of, treatment of, and recovery from, disorders stemming from the misuse of synthetic opioids by secondary school-aged children. (b) Definitions In this section: (1) Eligible partnership The term eligible partnership means a partnership of— (A) a local educational agency, a State educational agency, a Bureau of Indian Education school, an educational service agency, or a consortium of entities that includes a State, local, territorial, or Tribal education agency or organization seeking to establish or expand a program to reduce the misuse of synthetic opioids and establish recovery programs or services for children, adolescents, and young adults; and (B) a State, local, territorial, or Tribal health agency or organization, a qualified nongovernmental entity with appropriate expertise in providing substance use disorder education, prevention, and treatment services or programs for secondary school-aged children, as defined by the Secretary, or a consortium of entities that includes a State, local, territorial, or Tribal health agency or organization. (2) Recovery program The term recovery program means a program— (A) to help secondary school-aged children who are recovering from substance use disorders to initiate, stabilize, and maintain healthy and productive lives in the community; and (B) that includes peer-to-peer support delivered by individuals with lived experience in recovery, and communal activities to build recovery skills and supportive social networks. (c) Pilot program authorized The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall award 3-year grants, on a competitive basis, to up to 25 eligible partnerships to enable such partnerships to prevent the misuse of synthetic opioids by secondary school-aged children. (d) Use of funds An eligible partnership that receives a grant under this section shall use amounts made available through such grant for evidence-based activities, which may include any of the following: (1) Developing evidence-based materials for teachers to use as a component of classroom instruction, and sharing these materials with parents and families. (2) Designing evidence-based professional development for teachers, school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, classified school employees, and other school staff members. (3) Developing in- and out-of-school workshops and accessible and tailored content for students, families, and teachers to attain information about the misuse of synthetic opioids. (4) Creating efficient and effective multimedia communication campaigns, including through social media, to maximize outreach efforts to students, parents, and families. (5) Awarding contracts to nonprofit organizations— (A) specializing in substance misuse prevention education efforts; (B) with demonstrated success in reaching, engaging, and supporting local and State educational agencies, Bureau of Indian Education schools, and other schools; and (C) with expertise in designing recovery programs for synthetic opioid misuse and overdose prevention. (6) Establishing peer-to-peer counseling programs for students at secondary schools to support the work of school-based mental health professionals in preventing the misuse of synthetic opioids. (7) Other purposes as may be specified by the Secretary. (e) Applications and assurances To seek a grant under this section, an eligible partnership shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, which shall include the following: (1) A description, containing qualitative and quantitative information, of the existing need for such a grant in the area proposed to be served through the grant, which description may include information on— (A) the rate of misuse of and overdoses attributable to synthetic opioids among youth under the age of 21; (B) if available, data indicating the trend of synthetic opioid misuse and overdoses among youth under the age of 21 over the past 5 years; and (C) the availability of synthetic opioids. (2) A description of the initiatives, activities, or programs the eligible partnership will fund through the grant, including how such initiatives, activities, or programs will reduce the misuse of and overdoses attributable to synthetic opioids in the area proposed to be served through the grant. (3) A description of how the eligible partnership will establish a local interagency agreement to ensure adequate and effective collaboration among entities in the partnership to carry out the initiatives, activities, or programs described in paragraph (2). (4) A description of how the initiatives, activities, or programs described in paragraph (2) will be linguistically appropriate and culturally responsive for students and families served by the eligible partnership. (5) A description of how the initiatives, activities, or programs described in paragraph (2) will support students and families served by the eligible partnership in reversing individual and community-wide effects of synthetic opioid misuse and overdoses. (6) An assurance that— (A) persons providing services through the grant awarded to the eligible partnership will be adequately trained to provide such services; and (B) teachers, school leaders, administrators, specialized instructional support personnel, representatives of local Indian Tribes or Tribal organizations as appropriate, other school personnel, and parents or guardians of students participating in services funded through a grant under this section will be engaged in the design and implementation of the initiatives, activities, or programs described in paragraph (2). (7) A description of how the eligible partnership will support and integrate existing school, local educational agency, and State initiatives, activities, or programs with the initiatives, activities, or programs described in paragraph (2) to provide synthetic opioid misuse and overdose prevention services for students, as appropriate. (f) Priority In awarding grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible partnerships that have a higher rate of youth illicit drug use, including the use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. (g) Distribution of awards Subject to subsection (f), the Secretary shall ensure that grants awarded under this section are equitably distributed among the geographical regions of the United States and among Tribal, urban, suburban, and rural populations. (h) Supplement, not supplant Any services provided through initiatives, activities, or programs carried out under this section shall supplement, not supplant, other Federal or State funds available to carry out activities described in this subpart. (i) Accountability (1) Review In accordance with section 23122(b), the Secretary shall regularly review the initiatives, activities, or programs of eligible partnerships receiving a grant under this section to ensure that such partnerships are using the grant for the purposes for which it was provided. (2) Notification of reports Not later than 90 days after the Secretary awards grants for the first year of the program under this section, the Secretary shall— (A) require eligible partnerships receiving a grant under this section to submit reports, on an annual basis, detailing the initiatives, activities, or programs funded through such grant; and (B) notify such eligible partnerships of such reporting requirement. (3) Timeline of reports Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this section shall submit the first report described in paragraph (2) to the Secretary not later than 1 year after receiving a grant under this section. (4) Content of reports Each report required under paragraph (2) shall include, at minimum, the following information: (A) A description of the effectiveness of the grant awarded under this section in reducing synthetic opioid misuse and overdose among the students served by the eligible partnership. (B) Details regarding the initiatives, activities, or programs funded through the grant and further details about any subgrants awarded by the eligible partnership to help carry out planned initiatives, activities, or programs. (C) To the extent practicable, narrative statements from teachers, school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, or other relevant stakeholders describing the process of implementing the initiatives, activities, or programs developed through the grant. (D) If applicable, a description of any challenges faced by the eligible partnership in reaching or engaging parents, students, teachers, school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, and other relevant stakeholders with the initiatives, activities, or programs developed through the grant. (E) Any other information the Secretary may require. (5) Submission of reports Not later than 180 days after receiving reports from eligible partnerships receiving a grant under this section, the Secretary shall submit such reports and a brief overview of the data and outcomes described in such reports to the Committees on Education and Workforce and Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate. (j) Publication of programs Each eligible partnership receiving a grant under this section shall— (1) post on the eligible partnership’s publicly accessible website the initiatives, activities, and programs supported through the grant; and (2) disseminate to families served by the eligible partnership, in widely accessible formats, content from and information about such initiatives, activities, and programs. (k) Sharing of best practices The Secretary shall— (1) collect content from and information about all initiatives, activities, and programs developed by each eligible partnerships through a grant under this section; and (2) in conjunction with the Secretary of Education, make such content and information publicly available and widely accessible.