CONCORD, N.H.—As New Hampshire considers mandatory drug prevention education in all grades, the state’s opioid crisis has heightened the sense of urgency for existing programs that largely target teens.
A proposal to require at least two hours of age-appropriate drug and alcohol education yearly for students in kindergarten through fourth grade, and a minimum of four hours a year for older students, was among the package of bills lawmakers took up this session in response to a sharp increase in drug overdoses across the state. They’re now working out differences between the Senate version—which removed the minimum hours of instruction—and the House version, which encourages, but wouldn’t require, schools to provide such instruction.
