The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Program supports
national, State, and local initiatives to meet the seventh National
Education Goal, which provides that by the year 2000, all schools will
be free of drugs and violence and the unauthorized presence of
firearms and alcohol, and offer a disciplined environment that is
conducive to learning. These initiatives are designed to prevent
violence in and around schools, and to strengthen programs that
prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. The Drug-Free
Schools and Communities Act was passed in 1986 and implemented in FY
1987.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act was
reauthorized in 1994, extends the original Drug-Free Schools
and Communities Act authority and broadens it to include
activities to prevent violence as well as illicit drug use
by youth. It is the Department of Education's largest drug
control program, and the Federal Government's primary
vehicle for reducing the demand for illicit drugs through
education and prevention activities. In 1994 the Federal
Government also funded fifteen regional Comprehensive
Centers. These centers provide technical assistance to state
and local grantees of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act. To obtain contact information for the
center that serves you, refer to the map.
States and local communities continue to have the primary
role in developing and implementing drug and violence
prevention and education programming supported with SDFSCA
funding. More than 97 percent of America's 16,000 local
educational agencies receive funding under the program. At
least 60 percent of the school districts that receive these
funds, receive less than $10,000 each. The Department
provides national leadership in the areas of drug and
violence prevention through information aned technical
assistance, evaluation efforts, and direct grants.
State and Local Programs
Funds for the SDFSC Program are allocated to commence each
July 1. Eighty percent of the State and Local Program funds
goes to the State Education Agency who is entitled to use
four percent of their funds for administration and up to
five percent of their funds for State activities.
Therefore, the State must award 91 percent of their funds to
local education agencies (LEAs) on a FORMULA grant basis
based half on the school-aged population and half on State
shares of Federal Title I funding, predicated by enrollment.
The Chief State School Officer in each State is responsible
for the administration of these funds. Each State has a
Federal Program Officer by region, who provides technical
assistance and ensures the prompt dissemination of SDFS
funds to the State. The Comprehensive Centers work with
these individuals to assist them in meeting local needs.
In addition, 20 percent of SDFSC Program funds are allocated
to the Governor's office in each State. The governor may
designate another agency to administer their State's SDFSC
allocation, however, they are directly responsible for the
overall administration of their SDFSC funds. Governor's
funds are awarded on a competitive basis to community-based,
private non-profit organizations. These funds are primarily
for children or youth not receiving prevention education in
a school setting, e.g., pregnant or parenting teens,
pre-school, incarcerated youth, dropouts, etc.
SEAs, LEAs, and Governors are authorized to undertake a
broad range of drug and violence prevention strategies under
the program including purchase of curricular and other
instructional materials, implementation of counseling and
other early intervention activities, purchase of metal
detectors and hiring of security guards, and implementation
of before- and after-school recreational, instructional,
cultural, and artistic programs.
On July 1, 1998, the Principles of Effectiveness went into
effect as a regulation to the SDFSC Program. These
Principles require that award recipients do the following:
- Base their programs on a thorough assessment of
objective data about the drug and violence problems in the
schools and communities they serve.
- Establish a set of measurable goals and objectives,
with assistance from a local or regional advisory council,
and design their activities to meet those goals and
objectives.
- Design and implement their activities based on
research or evaluation proving that the strategies used
prevent or reduce drug use, violence, or disruptive behavior
among youth.
- Evaluate their programs periodically to assess their progress toward
achieving their goals and objectives; to use their evaluation results to
refine, to improve, and to strengthen their program; and to refine their
goals and objectives as appropriate.
A national panel of experts has produced a list of
research-based prevention programs. Although these programs have
proven effective in some settings, potential adopters should
first identify their own local needs, study the programs to
find a match to these needs, and be certain that their own
context is similar to that in which the program was shown to
be effective.
National Programs
The SDFSC statute also authorizes National Programs, a broad
discretionary authority that permits the Secretary to carry
out, in accordance with his priorities, programs to prevent
drug use and violence.
Such programs may including training, demonstrations, direct
services to school districts with severe drug and violence
problems, program evaluation, and information development
and dissemination. The statute also contains a section
authorizing grants to institutions of higher education for
the development, implementation, validation, and
dissemination of model drug and violence prevention
programs.
For FY 2001, National Programs will include funds for LEAs for the
following initiatives: Safe Schools/Healthy Students; Middle School
Coordinators; College Campus Model Demonstration; Elementary School
Counselors; and Alternative strategies.