SB 250: Wesley's Law Grant Program; provide for the creation of and establish a purpose

Georgia law already allows schools to keep opioid antagonists (medications like naloxone that reverse opioid overdoses) on campus under what the bill calls 'Wesley's Law.' This bill builds on that by creating a grant program to help pay for it. Starting in the 2026-2027 school year, and depending on available money, the State Board of Education would offer up to $3 million a year in grants so local school systems and public schools, including charter schools, can buy and maintain supplies of these medications. The Department of Education would be required to seek funding for the program from the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust, a state fund tied to opioid settlement money. The State Board would set the rules for who qualifies and how grants are awarded. The bill does not stop schools from buying the medication on their own if they choose not to use the grant program, and it requires the Department of Education to report yearly data on overdoses, medication use, and outcomes to the Governor.

• Creates the Wesley's Law Grant Program to give Georgia public schools and charter schools grants for buying and maintaining opioid overdose reversal medication.
• Caps annual grant funding at up to $3 million, starting in the 2026-2027 school year and dependent on available state or trust funding.
• Requires the Department of Education to seek funding for the program from the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust, a fund built from opioid lawsuit settlement money.
• Directs the State Board of Education to set the criteria, terms, and conditions for awarding grants to schools.
• Requires the Department of Education to report yearly data to the Governor on overdoses, use of the medication, and outcomes at schools.
• Clarifies that schools can still buy and keep the medication on their own dime without applying for a grant.

Local school systems and public schools, including charter schools, that want funding to stock opioid overdose reversal medication; the Department of Education and State Board of Education, which would run the grant program; and the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust, which the department must seek money from.

If schools use these grants to keep opioid overdose reversal medication on hand, staff could respond more quickly to an overdose on campus. Whether the program actually helps depends on how much trust fund or state money becomes available, since the $3 million is a cap, not a guarantee.

• New Code Section 20-2-776.6(b) creates the Wesley's Law Grant Program starting in the 2026-2027 school year, capped at $3 million annually and contingent on available funding.
• Subsection (c) directs the Department of Education to actively pursue grant funding from the Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust, including meeting any application requirements.
• Subsection (d) preserves schools' ability to acquire and keep opioid antagonists at their own expense outside the grant program.
• Subsection (e) requires the Department of Education to annually report three years of data to the Governor on participation rates, overdoses, medication administrations, outcomes, and the impact of Wesley's Law.
• Subsection (f) authorizes the Department of Education to write rules and regulations to implement the program.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-24Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)Primary sponsor
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

• school safety
• opioid overdose response
• student health
• education funding
• Wesley's Law