RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC/WAVY) — Governor Glenn Youngkin has issued an executive order requiring schools across Virginia to notify parents of drug overdose incidents within 24 hours.
According to the governor’s office, the order was made in direct response to nine students who overdosed on fentanyl at a Loudoun County high school last month.
Former Virginia Beach Schools Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence now serves in that role for Loudoun County Public Schools.
“While the Loudoun County Public School division reportedly waited more than twenty days to notify parents to the overdose incidents, Governor Youngkin is taking immediate action to enhance prompt parental notification,” a spokesperson for the governor’s office said.
Executive Order 28 will require the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to issue guidance to school divisions which will require parents of school-related overdoses to be notified within 24 hours. The order will also involve collaboration with law enforcement and raising student awareness to prevent drug abuse, according to the governor’s office.
“Parents have a right to know what’s going on in their child’s lives, especially in schools. Overdoses that occur on school grounds or are connected to the school must lead to an immediate parental notification,” Youngkin said. “School administrators’ first instinct when there is a problem cannot be to delay relevant information on critical children’s health and safety matters — it must be passed on to parents immediately. Opioid overdoses have claimed the lives of far too many Virginians, devastating families and communities across the Commonwealth and we must continue to combat opioid abuse and overdoses with action and transparency.”
