The Senate in the State of Texas is considering a bill to require all students to take alcohol awareness classes before they can graduate. This includes high school students as well as students in the lower grades such as middle school students.
The State of Texas already has the Alcohol Awareness and Education Act which came out of an incident at University of Texas, Austin. There a student who was trying to get in a fraternity was forced to drink so much that he eventually died.
According to State Sen. Kirk Watson, "It will make sure that nearly all Texas teenagers can learn about the dangers of alcohol poisoning and binge drinking before they can be endangered by them."
The Alcohol Awareness and Education Act added alcohol awareness to the health education requirements of students. But the Texas Education Agency updated those requirement and said that it would be mandatory to take these classes before graduation. The new bill make this class part of the science program. It includes the causes, dangers, risks, consequences, signs, symptoms and treatment of heavy and binge alcohol consumption and alcohol poisoning.
"This is a common-sense proposal that's good for Texas' children and young adults. If it saves just one of them, it will be well worth it," Watson said.
The bill is in the legislative process and will need some more work before passage and it becoming law.