North Carolina district supplies all school buses with overdose response kits

Drug overdose response kits will be available in every school bus in a North Carolina district as part of an emergency preparedness initiative, according to a recent report.

“We are extremely thankful for Nash County’s support in making this possible,” said Michael Baier, the Nash County Public Schools director of transportation, as reported by WRAL News.

“By equipping all 115 buses with Naloxone and ONEbox kits, we are strengthening our emergency preparedness and reinforcing our commitment to protecting the students entrusted to our care.”

The county, its Board of Commissioners, the Nash County Opioid Settlement Advisory Council and the C.A.R.E. Coalition contributed to funding the initiative at approximately $21,400, the article explained.

“Naloxone is now widely carried by first responders and police. Distribution efforts have also helped make the medication available to community partners.”

‘Hopefully, they’ll never crack one open on a bus’

Schools in other state districts have also considered options to make naloxone more available to students, WRAL News reported.

“In 2024, the Wake County Public School System approved a plan to train staff on administering naloxone, and student groups across the state have asked state leaders to have wellness teams ready to intervene when they see a problem.”

In Nash County, 132 district bus drivers and monitors received training in 2025 to recognize “the warning signs of an overdose and how to properly administer Naloxone,” according to the article.

“Hopefully, they’ll never crack one (kit) open on a bus, but if they do need one, it’s there,” said Liz Lord, interim director of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Beyond North Carolina, other states such as Virginia have been wrestling with opioid deaths among school-aged children.

Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) approved a proposal in 2024 to allow students to carry naloxone in their backpacks.

The proposal came after nine students from the district’s Park View High School experienced an overdose in the 2023 school year, with at least four of the overdoses occurring inside the school.

Nationwide, one 2023 analysis by the Families Against Fentanyl group found overdose deaths from this drug skyrocketed more than 1,400% for children ages 1 to 14 during 2019-2021.

However, recent years have seen more positive reports as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) marked a nearly 27% drop in drug overdose deaths in 2024 – approximately 80,000, compared to an estimated 110,000 in 2023.

Journalists cited the increased availability of naloxone as part of the factors helping to bring down the number of drug overdose deaths.