Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month

Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month

Texas Government Code, §662.116, establishes the month of October as Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month to increase awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and potential overdoses. Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month may be regularly observed through appropriate community activities. The Fentanyl Response Communications Toolkit includes resources to support fentanyl poisoning awareness month that are available to help school systems plan and prepare to increase awareness during the month of October.

Students and families need to know that other drugs may contain a deadly level of fentanyl. You cannot see, taste, or smell it. It is almost impossible to tell if another drug is laced with fentanyl unless tested with a fentanyl testing strip. “One Pill Kills” is set up across the state to educate Texans on how to prevent, recognize, and reverse fentanyl poisoning.

Fentanyl Abuse Prevention and Drug Poisoning Awareness Education

Legislation related to fentanyl abuse prevention and drug poisoning awareness education, also known as Tucker’s law, establishes the following requirements.

Local school health advisory council (SHAC) duties
A school health advisory council (SHAC) is required to recommend to the local board of trustees the appropriate grade levels and curriculum for instruction in the dangers of opioids, including addiction to and abuse of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl (Texas Education Code (TEC) §28.004(c)).

Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Week
TEC §29.9074, requires the governor to designate a week to be known as Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Week in public schools to educate students about the dangers posed by the drug fentanyl and the risks of fentanyl poisoning, including overdose. Governor Abbott has designated the week of October 12-18, 2025, as Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Week. The week may include age-appropriate instruction, including instruction on the prevention of the abuse of and addiction to fentanyl, as determined by each school district.

Annual instruction for students in grades 6-12
Each school district and open-enrollment charter school is required to annually provide to students in grades 6–12 research-based instruction on fentanyl abuse prevention and drug poisoning awareness (TEC, §38.040). The required instruction in fentanyl prevention and drug poisoning awareness must include the following:

•    Suicide prevention
•    Prevention of the abuse of and addiction to fentanyl
•    Awareness of local school and community resources and any processes involved in accessing those resources
•    Health education that includes information about substance use and abuse, including youth substance use and abuse

The instruction may be provided by a public or private institution of higher education, library, community service organization, religious organization, local public health agency, or organization that employs mental health professionals or an employee or agent of these entities. A document that identifies the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) related to drug abuse prevention is available in the Fentanyl Response Communications Toolkit.

A school district or open-enrollment charter school may satisfy a requirement to implement a program in substance abuse prevention and intervention by providing instruction related to youth substance use and abuse education under the new Fentanyl Prevention and Drug Poisoning Awareness Education requirement provided by TEC, §38.040 (TEC, §38.351(g-1)).

Contact information

For questions regarding the legislation referenced in this section, please email healthandsafety@tea.texas.gov or call the Curriculum Standards and Student Support Division at 512-463-9581.