Opioid settlements help fund proactive drug curriculum

Using settlement money from opioid manufacturers and distributors, the Lake County, Illinois, Regional Office of Education is proactively developing an opioid education program ahead of statewide changes to how the subject is handled.

“Hopefully, Lake County is a leader in this going forward, as we’re going to have quite a bit of these resources available before other counties in the state,” Regional Superintendent of Schools Michael Karner said.

Legislation approved by the state legislature in July requires the state Board of Education develop evidence-based K-12 health education standards to reduce substance use risk factors and promote protective measures.

The standards are to be developed in collaboration with other state departments and the Illinois Opioid Crisis Response Advisory Council, and be made available to school districts by July 1, 2024.

Lake County has received just over $1.5 million in settlements so far, after national settlements were reached with opioid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals and distributors in January 2022.

This month, the Lake County Board authorized spending the funds to implement an Opioid Education Program for schools across the county, and to hire an opioid coordinator to help delegate the settlement spending.

Due to the new legislation, Karner thought the regional office could help develop curriculum before the mandates take effect for the 2024-25 school year.

“If we have local educators, utilizing local resources, then we can help design (curriculum) so it’s designed locally, and then be ahead of the game and not have to worry about that for next school year,” he said. “We just want to make sure we’re ahead due to this whole crisis that exists.”

In December 2021, the Illinois Opioid Allocation Agreement was approved by the...