New Law Requires California High School Students to Learn Dangers of Fentanyl

Seen as a way to reduce overdose deaths, the course will be necessary for graduation beginning with the 2026–27 school year,

A drug user displays his hit of fentanyl in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco on Feb. 23, 2023. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill mandating that public and charter school students learn about the dangers of fentanyl as the drug continues to cause thousands of overdose deaths in the state.

Existing law requires high school instruction in sexual harassment and violence for grades 9–12. The new legislation, Assembly Bill 2429, would amend the state’s education code to require fentanyl education, taught through existing health courses, as a prerequisite for high school graduation beginning with the 2026–27 school year.