H.R. 3130 — FACTS Act

This section establishes a pilot program administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), in consultation with the Secretary of Education, under which HHS awards competitive three-year grants to up to 25 eligible partnerships for evidence-based prevention, treatment, and recovery activities addressing synthetic opioid misuse among secondary school-aged children. Eligible partnerships consist of (1) a local, state, territorial, or Tribal educational agency (or related entity such as a Bureau of Indian Education school) and (2) a state, local, territorial, or Tribal health agency (or qualified nongovernmental entity with substance use disorder expertise). Grant funds may be used for activities such as (1) developing instructional materials for teachers and families; (2) professional development for school staff; (3) workshops for students, families, and teachers; (4) multimedia campaigns including social media; (5) contracts with specialized nonprofits; (6) peer-to-peer counseling programs; and (7) other Secretary-specified purposes. Applications must describe local needs (e.g., youth synthetic opioid misuse and overdose rates and trends), planned activities, interagency collaboration, cultural and linguistic responsiveness, support for reversing misuse effects, staff training, stakeholder engagement, and integration with existing school programs.

This section authorizes appropriations of such sums as may be necessary to carry out section 101 for FY2026 through 2028 and permits the Secretary to reserve up to 5% of appropriated funds for any fiscal year to (1) conduct a rigorous, independent evaluation of initiatives, activities, or programs funded under section 101; (2) provide technical assistance and share best practices for such programs developed by eligible partnerships through section 101 grants; and (3) provide application technical assistance to eligible partnerships, including those in rural and remote areas, via webinars, direct emails, mailed outreach, and other strategies.

This section establishes an Interagency Task Force on Preventing Synthetic Opioid Misuse and Overdose Among Youth, to be chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and convened not later than 90 days after enactment, to identify, evaluate, and recommend improvements to coordinate federal responses to synthetic opioid overdose and misuse among youth. The task force comprises 12 to 17 members, including (1) the HHS Secretary, Secretary of Education, Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, CDC Director, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, AHRQ Director, Surgeon General, and NIMH Director; and (2) Secretary-appointed members consisting of 2-3 parents of youth who died from fentanyl or another synthetic opioid overdose, 1-2 representatives from nationally recognized nonprofits focused on preventing youth synthetic opioid misuse, and others as determined by the Secretary. The task force must (1) develop and regularly update a report analyzing federal, state, and local programs addressing youth synthetic opioid misuse and overdose, identifying best practices for prevention, screening, diagnosis, intervention, treatment, referral, and community supports; and (2) develop and regularly update a national strategy for youth synthetic opioid prevention and coordinated implementation across relevant federal agencies.

This section provides a rule of construction clarifying that nothing in this title limits or alters the authority of federal agencies specified in section 201(c) to carry out programs to reduce synthetic opioid overdose and misuse under other provisions of law.

This section adds to the list of authorized professional development activities for which states may use funds allotted under the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants program (i.e., ESEA Title II-A) providing training for all school personnel—including teachers, principals, other school leaders, specialized instructional support personnel, paraprofessionals, counselors, and mental health professionals—on how to address and prevent the misuse of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl, among students.

This section requires local educational agency plans under Title I-A of the ESEA to describe how the agency will engage teachers and school leaders, in consultation with parents, local educational agency administrators, public health officials, paraprofessionals, specialized instructional support personnel, school counselors, and school psychologists, to address and prevent the misuse of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl, among students.

This section revises state plan requirements under ESEA Title I-A (20 U.S.C. 6311(g)(1)) by adding a new assurance describing how the state educational agency will provide support to local educational agencies receiving Title I-A grants in addressing and preventing the misuse of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl or any substituted derivative thereof, among students. (Title I-A provides formula grants to local educational agencies to improve academic achievement of disadvantaged students.)

This section expands school safety data collection duties of the National Center for Education Statistics to include, in addition to existing data on violence incidence and characteristics (i.e., victim-perpetrator relationships, demographics, and weapons used), information on access to synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, on school premises, and the effects of such substances on school safety and student health and well-being.

This section expands the authorized uses of grant funds under the school-based health centers program to include the purchase of naloxone to reverse the effects of opioid overdose and the establishment of other programs to address and prevent the misuse of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl or any substituted derivative of fentanyl.

This section requires the Monitoring the Future survey—funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to annually track drug, alcohol, and tobacco use trends and related attitudes among approximately 50,000 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students—to include, beginning January 1, 2026, (1) indicators measuring youth use of, perception of harm from, and access to counterfeit or synthetic opioids; and (2) where applicable, indicators measuring respondents' awareness of the counterfeit or synthetic nature of any opioids used or encountered.

This section requires the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), beginning January 1, 2026, to include in the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey—which monitors health-risk behaviors among high school students nationwide—(1) questions related to the use of, awareness regarding, and exposure to counterfeit or synthetic opioids, including fentanyl; and (2) where applicable, indicators to measure respondents' awareness of the counterfeit or synthetic nature of any opioids used or encountered.

This section directs the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), beginning January 1, 2026, to evaluate the effectiveness of the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System—a CDC surveillance program that collects state-level data on unintentional and undetermined intent drug overdose deaths—in gathering and reporting data on specific synthetic opioids causing or contributing to overdoses and deaths among secondary school-aged children. The section requires the Director to submit the evaluation findings and recommendations, if applicable, within 180 days of completion to the House Committees on Energy and Commerce and Education and Workforce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and authorizes appropriations of such sums as necessary for FY2026.