The U.S. is facing an opioid crisis. Deaths have nearly quadrupled in the last 15 years — the latest figures show 91 Americans dying from opioid overdoses every day.
In hard-hit states like West Virginia, parents’ addiction to pain pills, fentanyl, or heroin has torn many families apart. With 5,000 children now in foster care, a 24% increase over the past five years, the state’s schools are grappling with ways to support children affected by drug abuse.
In this report for the PBS NewsHour, Education Week Correspondent Lisa Stark traveled to rural Jackson County, W.Va, to see how one school district is responding.
This video aired on PBS NewsHour on December 27, 2016.