The School Training Overdose Preparedness and Intelligence Taskforce (STOP-IT), sponsored by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), is working to standardize opioid overdose prevention and response in Arizona schools. Without standard policies in place, many schools either lack access to naloxone or follow inconsistent guidelines for its storage, administration and training.
According to the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program, at least 80 children under the age of 18 died from an opioid overdose between 2021 and 2022, including seven middle school-aged children (ages 11–14) and up to four deaths across all age ranges occurred in school settings.¹ Between 2020 and 2022, Arizona’s youth mortality rate was nearly twice the national average.² In 2023, an additional 27 children and adolescents in Arizona died from fentanyl poisoning.¹ Recognizing the urgency of this crisis, the Arizona High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Public Health/Public Safety (PH/PS) initiative—comprised of members from the AZ HIDTA, the AZ Drug Demand Reduction Outreach (DDRO) program and the AZ ORS team—took action.
To ensure naloxone access in all schools, the AZ Drug Intelligence Officer (DIO) chaired the STOP-IT Campaign Naloxone Procurement Board and led efforts to secure 16,200 naloxone kits, enough to supply every school, including charter and tribal schools, at no cost. The AZ Public Health Analyst (PHA) also supported this effort as a member of the Procurement Subcommittee. The first success came when the Arizona Attorney General’s Office provided an initial supply of naloxone for community distribution. As soon as the shipment arrived, doses were delivered to ADE to ensure all schools in need had immediate access. However, this supply was insufficient to cover the entire state.
Recognizing the need for wider distribution, the AZ DIO and partners determined that 16,200 kits were required to meet demand across all Arizona schools. Working alongside ADE, the team submitted a formal request to the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). Through interagency collaboration, leaders agreed that expanding naloxone access was critical, and ADHS approved the full request, ensuring statewide distribution at no cost to schools. The AZ National Guard’s DDRO program then facilitated distribution, ensuring naloxone reached schools in all 15 counties, including tribal communities.
Beyond naloxone distribution, STOP-IT developed a resource toolkit and a standardized training curriculum, now available statewide at no cost. Through these collaborative efforts, the AZ ORS team, AZ HIDTA and its partners have significantly expanded naloxone access in schools, creating more lifesaving opportunities and empowering communities to combat the overdose epidemic.
Lalani, K., Anderson, M., Newberry, S., Rimsza, M. E., Garlington, T., Glidden, M., & Celaya, M. F. (2024). Arizona Child Fatality Review Team: Thirty-first annual report. Arizona Department of Health Services. Https://www.azdhs.gov/documents/prevention/womens-childrens-health/reports-fact-sheets/child-fatality-review-annual-reports/cfr-annual-report-2024.pdf
Friedman, J., & Hadland, S. E. (2024). The overdose crisis among U.S. adolescents. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(2), 97–100. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp2312084
