The leader of the Hartford Public School system said on Monday that nurses, and staff at health school clinics, have already begun training on how to recognize overdoses and administer the anti-overdose drug naloxone.
A 13-year-old student recently died following an apparent fentanyl overdose the Sport and Medical Sciences Academy in the city.
The overdose death prompted city officials to decide to make naloxone available in the schools.
Speaking on Connecticut Public Radio's Where We Live, Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said stocking naloxone had not been considered before.
"It was something that was not on the radar, quite frankly," Torres-Rodriguez said. "I have had this conversation with several colleagues superintendents in Connecticut, and my colleagues across the country. Wow... What a painful way, what an unfortunate way to have to respond to something."
Bag checks were already done twice each year.
Torres-Rodriguez says officials are considering performing those checks more frequently.
