The bad news keeps getting worse in many places when it comes to the challenges districts face in addressing students鈥� substance abuse.
School health workers in most districts report that they are facing challenges in trying to curb the numbers of students who are vaping and abusing alcohol, marijuana, and opioids, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey that polled 3,480 school-based health professionals in March.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents said student vaping, smoking, and/or chewing tobacco products is 鈥渁 challenge鈥� or 鈥渁 major challenge鈥� to deal with in their districts. Student marijuana use is 鈥渁 challenge鈥� or 鈥渁 major challenge鈥� for 56 percent of respondents; 40 percent said the same for alcohol; and 23 percent for opioid use.
Nationwide, the number of adolescents who report that they鈥檝e used or are using substances held steady in 2022 after a decline in 2021, according to the most recent data from the .
But an overwhelming majority of school-based health professionals reported seeing an increase in the number of students using marijuana (72 percent) or vaping/smoking/chewing tobacco (83 percent) since 2019, the EdWeek Research Center survey found.
鈥淢any students have been vaping, and some are using substances in vaping that cause them to hallucinate and have very high heart rates, sometimes needing to be evaluated at the emergency room,鈥� said a nurse from Indiana in an open-ended response to the EdWeek Research Center survey.
Experts attributed the increase that school-based health professionals are seeing to the worsening youth mental health crisis, because substance use is often a coping mechanism for poor mental health.
While student substance abuse isn鈥檛 a new challenge for school districts, there are new factors making it more difficult for districts to address these challenges.
The substances that adolescents are experimenting with today 鈥渁re much more deadly and much more addictive than some of the prior ones we鈥檝e seen,鈥� said Darrell Sampson, the executive director of student services for the Arlington Public 69传媒 in Virginia.
One example is fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid drug. It only takes a very small amount for someone to get high, and it鈥檚 so strong that one could easily overdose or die from it, Sampson said. In fact, fentanyl and related substances have contributed to a dramatic rise in drug overdose deaths in the United States, according to the .
Vape pens have also made it more difficult for educators to catch students who are using drugs because they aren鈥檛 as obvious as cigarettes, experts said. And the normalization and legalization of adult marijuana use might also be contributing to students鈥� use of it.
Substance abuse can negatively affect students鈥� learning, memory, and attention, according to experts, so schools have good reason to address these challenges head on.
When asked what their school or district is doing to address students鈥� mental health/substance-use challenges, the top five answers from school-based health professionals were: providing mental health care through community partnerships; in-school, one-on-one therapy; training all staff to flag issues; training staff to offer support; and keeping naloxone (medicine that treats opioid overdoses) on hand, according to the EdWeek Research Center survey.
In the Arlington, Va., district, there are six substance abuse counselors who create prevention and intervention programs, Sampson said. School staff members are also trained to use naloxone. And as of May 2023, high school students are now trained and allowed to carry naloxone in school buildings, as long as they have parental consent.
69传媒 can take steps to help students facing these challenges, according to the advice that experts shared with Education Week. Those recommendations include:
- Have good partnerships with parents. 69传媒 can play a key role in bringing parents together to talk about substance use problems their children are facing. Parents 鈥渘eed support on how to be parents in 2023, because it is different than when they were growing up,鈥� said Flavio Marsiglia, a professor at the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. Providing these forums for parents could also destigmatize the problem, he added.
- 69传媒 need a multidisciplinary approach. 鈥淪chool nurses play a key role,鈥� but schools shouldn鈥檛 鈥減ut all the burden on one individual,鈥� Marsiglia said. Successful prevention programs are multidisciplinary, have good leadership, and ensure parents and the community are included.
- Teachers need support. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want them to be psychologists and social workers,鈥� Marsiglia said, but they can support prevention efforts. Teachers can learn how to identify problems and the steps for referring a student who might be dealing with a substance use disorder.
- Recognize that students are having a very hard time. 69传媒 need coping mechanisms to help them deal with stress, anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges, said Ijeoma Opara, an assistant professor in the department of social and behavioral sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. 鈥淲e need to invest more care and more resources in mental health to be able to support kids,鈥� she said.
Data analysis for this article was provided by the EdWeek Research Center. Learn more about the center鈥檚 work.
