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Fact Sheet

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:

1. Base their programs on a thorough assessment of objective data about the drug and violence problems in the schools and communities they serve.
   
   
2. 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.
   
   
3. 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.
   
   
4. 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.