Oklahoma Is Sending Opioid Settlement Money to Schools: What the New Grants Cover

Oklahoma public schools, technology centers and state higher education institutions can apply for a new round of opioid abatement grants, Attorney General Gentner Drummond announced on Oct. 1, 2026. The money comes from the state's share of the national opioid settlements and is awarded by the Oklahoma Opioid Abatement Board.

Individual awards range from $105,000 to $900,000 over three years, scaled to the size and type of the applicant. Schools that apply together as a group may qualify for larger amounts. Applications are open now and run through Nov. 30, 2026.

For families, the practical question is simpler than the grant mechanics: this is opioid-settlement money that may soon be paying for prevention programs, family counseling and naloxone in the schools their kids attend.

The lead

"Schools are often the first line of defense in protecting young Oklahomans from the dangers of opioids," Drummond said in the announcement. "This funding puts real resources in the hands of educators who see these challenges up close every day. No school should let the application process stand in the way, and our office is ready to help every step of the way."

The board plans to review applications from Dec. 1, 2026 through Feb. 28, 2027, with awards expected to be announced in March or April 2027.

How Oklahoma's opioid money works

Oklahoma is one of the states receiving annual payments under the national opioid settlements with drug manufacturers and distributors. In 2020, the Legislature created the Opioid Abatement Board to manage the state's settlement funds and direct them toward abating the crisis.

The board is made up of the Attorney General and appointees of the Governor, the Speaker of the House, the Senate President Pro Tempore, the State Treasurer, the State Superintendent for Public Instruction, and the State Auditor and Inspector. Its grant authority flows from Title 74, sections 30.3 through 30.8 of Oklahoma law — the Political Subdivisions Opioid Abatement Grants Act — which requires that awarded funds be spent only on approved purposes.

This is not a new program. During a special meeting in August 2026, the board awarded more than $12 million to 24 cities, counties and other political subdivisions. Recipients included the cities of Ada, Bristow, Duncan, Grove, Lawton, Oklahoma City, Stillwater and Tulsa; a long list of counties including Carter, Tulsa, Wagoner and Woodward; regional development organizations such as the Grand Gateway Economic Development Association; the Norman Regional Hospital Authority; and joint applications from several multi-county groups. The new round simply opens the door to a different set of applicants: schools.

What the grants can pay for

The board reviews applications against a set of approved priority strategies, published on the Attorney General's opioid grant site. The strategies were selected after a review of best practices informed by the National Association of Counties, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's Evidence-Based Practices Resource Center and other registries, and they are aligned with Exhibit E of the 2022 National Opioid Settlements as well as Oklahoma's own statutorily approved uses.

The release highlighted three of them — school-based prevention programs, naloxone distribution and family skills training — but the full list is broader. It includes:

School-based prevention — coordinated, evidence-based programs delivered in schools to reduce the risk of behaviors such as substance use while promoting student well-being.
Naloxone distribution — naloxone is a safe, highly effective medication that reverses an opioid overdose by restoring breathing; it has no effect on someone who has not taken opioids.
Family skills training — programs that shape youth behavior and strengthen family relationships, reducing the risk of youth substance use.
Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) — buprenorphine, methadone and naltrexone, the front-line, evidence-based treatment for opioid use disorder, typically paired with counseling and recovery support.
Contingency management — an approach that rewards treatment- and recovery-oriented behavior such as negative drug screens and engagement in care.
Integrated care — models that combine physical health care with mental health and substance use care.
Supported employment and supported housing — help finding and keeping a job, and access to safe, stable housing, both of which support long-term recovery.
Other evidence-based strategies — applicants may propose another approach with justification, subject to board approval.

Why schools are part of an opioid settlement strategy

Prevention and overdose-reversal in schools show up in settlement spending across the country because adolescence is where a lot of opioid use begins — and because the drug supply students might encounter is far more dangerous than it was a decade ago. Counterfeit pills pressed to look like prescription painkillers, anxiety medications or ADHD stimulants circulate widely, and a small amount of illicitly manufactured fentanyl can be lethal to someone with no tolerance.

Two of the funded categories map directly onto that reality. School-based prevention is the upstream piece: giving students accurate information and building protective factors before use starts. Naloxone distribution is the downstream piece: making sure that if an overdose happens, the medication that reverses it is close at hand.

NIDA notes that naloxone reverses overdose from heroin, fentanyl and prescription opioids, that it can be given by people without medical training, and that it has no effect on someone who is not experiencing an opioid overdose — which is why public-health agencies have pushed to put it in more places.

For parents, that means a practical question worth asking their school or district: is my child's school applying, and will the application include naloxone and staff training?

What happens next

Nov. 30, 2026 — application deadline for public schools, technology centers and higher education institutions.
Dec. 1, 2026 – Feb. 28, 2027 — board review period.
March–April 2027 — awards announced.

The Attorney General's office says staff are available to help applicants through the process, and eligibility rules, the full priority-strategy list and application instructions are posted on the state's opioid abatement grant page.

Oklahoma is not the only state steering settlement dollars toward youth prevention — school-based programs and youth-focused grants appear in abatement plans across the country — but running an entire grant round aimed at educational institutions is a notable bet on prevention as an abatement strategy.

Where to get help

If you or someone in your family is struggling with opioids or another substance, help is available and confidential:

SAMHSA National Helpline — 1-800-662-4357 (HELP), free, 24/7, English and Spanish.
FindTreatment.gov — the federal treatment locator.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline — call or text 988 for mental health and substance use crises.

Oklahoma families can also reach the state's 988 system and local county drug and alcohol services, which administer many of the treatment and recovery programs funded by the same settlement dollars.