Industry Update | Texas Becomes 3rd State to Mandate Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Education
Texas has established the most comprehensive college substance use prevention requirements in the nation, building upon foundational efforts by California and Washington State. Texas’ House Bill 3062, effective September 1, 2025, mandates that, for all undergraduate students who first enroll in the Fall 2026 semester, public institutions of higher education must provide evidence-based instruction to covering:
Prevention of the abuse of and addiction to fentanyl
Awareness of local institution and community resources and any processes involved in accessing those resources
Health education that includes information about substance use and abuse, including young adult substance use and abuse
Suicide prevention
The instruction required may be provided online by external organizations employing mental health professionals
This milestone represents the broadest legislative approach in the United States to date. With it, Texas state law now documents the fundamental shift away from ineffective, abstinence-only messaging toward scientifically validated harm reduction approaches that have been repeatedly shown to demonstrate measurable outcomes in protecting student populations.
The Evidence-Based Education Mandate
Unlike traditional prevention programs that rely on fear-based or ‘just say no’ messaging, Texas HB 3062 specifically requires "research-based instruction" — a critical distinction that aligns with peer-reviewed literature showing comprehensive education significantly outperforms abstinence-only approaches in reducing substance-related consequences.
The legislation addresses the reality that nearly half of college students will experiment with illicit substances, recognizing that effective prevention education must provide practical, evidence-based knowledge rather than ideological messaging (Schulenberg, J. E., et al., 2021). With fentanyl now implicated in over 76% of adolescent overdose deaths, comprehensive contamination awareness and emergency response training have become essential components of student safety infrastructure (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024).
Setting the National Standard for Comprehensive Prevention
California pioneered campus-based interventions with the Campus Opioid Safety Act (2023), focusing primarily on naloxone distribution and basic overdose response education. Washington State expanded the approach with HB 2112 (2023), adding opioid prevention education and Good Samaritan law protections.
Texas now establishes the most comprehensive framework, requiring not only fentanyl-specific education but also broad-spectrum substance use prevention covering multiple drug categories, mental health integration, and systematic community resource navigation. This holistic approach reflects emerging consensus that effective college prevention education must address the full spectrum of high-risk substances and circumstances students encounter.
Successfully Addressing Multi-Substance Education Requirements
The legislation's expansive requirements — spanning multiple substance categories, mental health education, and community resource integration — align closely with established best practices in evidence-based prevention education. Effective programs must demonstrate systemic development processes and measurable learning outcomes across this broad spectrum of topics.
This comprehensive approach validates educational frameworks that address cocaine, benzodiazepines, MDMA, opioids, and mixed-use of drugs with alcohol through integrated curricula, rather than single-substance or narrow intervention models. The requirement for community resource awareness and emergency response protocols further emphasizes the practical, applied knowledge necessary for real-world student safety scenarios.
Texas’ legislation requires that providers with specialized expertise and clinical oversight be directly involved in the development of program curricula. DopaGE's substance use prevention training, developed through systematic collaboration between addiction medicine specialists and educational design experts, is available online in addition to addressing three other core requirements of Texas Law: fentanyl prevention education, comprehensive substance use awareness, and community resource integration.
For suicide prevention — a specialized field requiring dedicated clinical expertise — strategic partnerships with organizations like the JED Foundation ensure students receive evidence-based interventions specifically validated for college populations. This collaborative approach with DopaGE and the JED Foundation maintains the specialized depth necessary for measurable outcomes while providing comprehensive coverage of all legislative requirements.
Institutional Preparedness and Competitive Positioning
As additional states develop legislation following Texas's comprehensive model, institutions implementing broad-spectrum, evidence-based prevention education will find themselves well-positioned for regulatory compliance and enhanced student safety outcomes. The trend toward multi-substance, research-validated approaches represents the future of college prevention education.
DopaGE's comprehensive prevention platform addresses the full scope of Texas's requirements through systematic integration of multi-substance education, contamination awareness, overdose response protocols, and Good Samaritan law education. The platform's development since 2020 anticipated the comprehensive approach now codified in Texas legislation, reflecting DopaGE’s deep understanding of young adults’ needs to ensure their safety.
The integration of clinical oversight with an engagement-optimized learner experience delivers both institutional credibility and measurable learning outcomes that demonstrate a well-rounded and effective program to stakeholders.
Contact our training specialists to discuss how evidence-based substance use prevention training can position your institution ahead of emerging regulatory requirements.