Montgomery County Public Schools said it will implement new safety policies in an area where students have recently overdosed: the school restroom.
The push to prevent overdose deaths increased after five students died from opioids in January. Local leaders have also visited schools to warn parents and students of the dangers of fentanyl.
"It takes a little bit, and you can die," Councilmember Will Jawando told Northwood High School at a January visit.
The new bathroom policies include a restroom monitoring plan where school staff will do visual checks inside restrooms throughout the school day.
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In secondary schools, the outermost doors to bathrooms will remain open and will be modified with latches so students cannot close those doors.
The schools are also reserving the right to close restrooms outside regular school hours. This means they could be off-limits before and after school during lunch.
In addition to this new policy, there is Narcan at every school in the county. This school year, it has been used 11 times to revive students from overdoses, according to Montgomery County school officials.
