As students across Riverside County head back to school, school districts have access to a new curriculum focused on the dangers of fentanyl.
The Riverside County Office of Education developed the curriculum with local public health and law enforcement agencies as part of the county’s Faces of Fentanyl campaign.
“The Fentanyl Awareness Curriculum is a first-of-its-kind tool to help schools and communities address the growing dangers of fentanyl with local information, making it particularly impactful,” said Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez.
The county says fentanyl deaths have dropped by about 54 percent since the campaign launched in 2022.
“The County’s efforts to fight fentanyl on all fronts have made a difference in the community,” said Board Chair and Second District Supervisor Karen Spiegel. “Deaths have been declining at a rapid pace, but we are not done. This new school curriculum is one more lever that focuses on prevention.”
The curriculum was piloted at three Riverside County schools last year and is now available at no cost to school districts, parents and community groups.
The effort comes ahead of Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness Day on August 21.
“Riverside County refuses to sit back while fentanyl kills our young people,” said District Attorney Mike Hestrin. “We were the first county in the state to prosecute drug dealers for these poisoning deaths, and now we're the first to put a fentanyl awareness curriculum directly in front of our students. Prevention and prosecution go hand in hand.”
County officials say the lessons are designed to give students and families local information about fentanyl and overdose prevention.
Parents and community groups can also access the curriculum for free through the Riverside County Office of Education.