H.R. 7994 — HERO Act

This section establishes a competitive grant program administered by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use and in consultation with the Secretary of Education, under which eligible entities—including private elementary schools, private secondary schools, local educational agencies (LEAs) including charter school LEAs, and LEA consortia—may receive awards beginning no later than 90 days after enactment to purchase FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal drugs and to develop and implement educational programming or resources on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), drug-use prevention and intervention, and emergency responses to drug overdoses. Grant applications must describe proposed uses and assure development of comprehensive emergency response plans for school staff (tailored to private schools or LEA-served schools, in consultation with local health departments); the Secretary must prioritize applicants in cities or counties with high opioid overdose rates; grants are for one year; grantees must report to the Secretary within one year after the grant period ends on drug uses, plans, and programming; and the Secretary must submit summary reports to Congress within two years of enactment and annually thereafter.

This section requires covered educational institutions (i.e., private elementary schools, private secondary schools, and local educational agencies including charter schools that are local educational agencies) receiving federal funds to submit descriptions of any distributions of opioid overdose reversal drugs to the National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS) and the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) beginning not later than 90 days after enactment.