Grant Details

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The purpose of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act is to support programs that prevent violence in and around schools; that prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs; that involve parents and communities; and that are coordinated with related federal, state, school, and community efforts and resources to foster a safe and drug-free learning environment that supports student academic achievement.

Funds shall be used to develop, implement, and evaluate comprehensive programs and activities, which are coordinated with other school and community-based services and programs. Such program or activity developed must meet the five Principles of Effectiveness, and be scientifically based. Schools receiving funds under this act are required to report the information required for the uniform management information and reporting system.

Authorized Activities include:

1. Dissemination of drug and violence prevention information to schools and the community to develop awareness and knowledge of the nature and extent of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use, abuse, and addiction, and their effects on individuals, families, and communities.
2. Professional development and training for, and involvement of, school personnel, pupil services personnel, parents, and interested community members in prevention, education, early identification and intervention, mentoring, or rehabilitation referral, as related to drug and violence prevention.
3. Drug and violence prevention activities may include the following:
• Community-wide planning and organization - to reduce violence and illegal drug use, which may include gang activity prevention.
• Conflict resolution/peer mediation programs - implementation of programs intended to affect critical life skills, knowledge, attitudes, and skills in resolving conflict without violence, including programs that train peer mediators and a designated faculty supervisor, and youth led anti-crime and anti-drug councils and activities
• Alternative education programs or services for violent or drug abusing students that reduce the need for suspension or expulsion or that serve students who have been suspended or expelled from the regular educational setting, including programs or services to assist students to make continued progress toward meeting the State academic achievement standards and to reenter the regular educational setting.
• Expanded and improved school-based mental health servicesrelated to illegal drug use and violence, including early identification of violence and illegal drug use, assessment, and direct or group counseling services provided to students, parents, families, and school personnel by qualified school-based mental health services.
• Counseling, mentoring, referral services, and other student assistance practices and programs, including assistance provided by qualified school-based mental health services providers in appropriate identification and intervention techniques for students at risk of violent behavior and illegal alcohol, tobacco, and drug use.
• Mentoring programs that encourage students to seek advice from, and to confide in a trusted adult regarding concerns about violence and illegal drug use.
• Truancy reduction programs - drug and violence prevention activities designed to reduce truancy.
• Student harassment programs - age-appropriate, developmentally-based violence prevention and education programs that address victimization associated with prejudice and intolerance, and that include activities designed to help students develop a sense of individual responsibility and respect for the rights of others, and to resolve conflicts without violence.
• Locker searches - a student’s locker may be inspected for weapons, illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia.
• Drug testing - consistent with the fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States, students may be tested for illegal drug use (including at the request of or with the consent of a parent or legal guardian of the student, if the local educational agency elects to so test or inspect).
• Emergency intervention services following traumatic crisis events, such as a shooting, major accident, or a drug-related incident that have disrupted the learning environment.
• Establishing or implementing a system for transferring suspension and expulsion records, consistent with Section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 USC 1232g), by a local educational agency to any public or private elementary school or secondary school.
• Character education - developing and implementing character education programs, as a component of drug and violence prevention programs that take into account the views of the parents of the students for whom the program is intended.
• School safety hotline - developing and maintaining a school safety hotline.
• Community service - pertains to activities conducted by students to benefit the larger community and encourage students to lead drug/violence-free lives or increase students’ sense of community. These activities may include service learning.
• Employee background checks - conducting a nationwide background check of each local educational agency employee, regardless of when hired, and prospective employees for the purpose of determining whether the employee or prospective employee has been convicted of a crime that bears upon the employee’s fitness
• to be responsible for the safety or well-being of children.
• to serve in the particular capacity in which the employee or prospective employee is or will be employed.
• to otherwise be employed by the local educational agency.
• Early warning signs training - programs to train school personnel to identify warning signs of youth suicide and to create an action plan to help youth at risk of suicide.
• Domestic/child abuse programs - programs that respond to the needs of students who are faced with domestic violence or child abuse.
4. Security Measures may include the following:
• Security equipment - acquiring and installing metal detectors, electronic locks, surveillance cameras, or other related equipment and technologies.
• Reporting criminal offenses committed on school property.
• School security plans - developing and implementing comprehensive school security plans or obtaining technical assistance concerning such plans, which may include obtaining a security assessment or assistance from, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA), the School Security and Technology Resource Center at the Sandia National Laboratory located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or others as applicable.
• Safe zones of passage - activities that ensure students travel safety to and from school, which may include bicycle and pedestrian safety programs.
• Hiring and training of school security personnel - hiring and training based on scientific research, of school security personnel (including school resource officers) who interact with students in support of youth drug and violence prevention activities.