For the first time, school nurses statewide and throughout the Hudson Valley will soon be able to administer Narcan to students.

Before the kits can be in schools, nurses must be trained on the use of the potentially lifesaving heroin overdose medication.

State Sen. Terrence Murphy says that Narcan isn't available in schools yet, but he wants that to change because all five counties in the Hudson Valley are designated high-intensity drug trafficking areas.

"We're not gonna wait for our kids to drop dead in school," he said.

The state budget, passed just weeks ago, provides more than $270,000 to buy kits of naloxone, also known as Narcan, for New York's 3,000 school districts.

The nasal spray immediately reverses the effects of a heroin overdose, helping the user regain consciousness.