Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989

Posted Date: 04/10/2017

In general, no local educational agency shall be eligible to receive funds or any other forms of financial assistance under any Federal program unless it certifies to the State educational agency that it has adopted and has implemented a program to prevent the use of illicit drugs and alcohol by students or employees that, at a minimum, includes:

“(1) age-appropriate, developmentally based drug and alcohol education and prevention programs (which address the legal, social, and health consequences of drug and alcohol use and which provide information about effective techniques for resisting peer pressure to use illicit drugs and alcohol) for students in all grades of the schools operated or served by the applicant, from early childhood level through grade 12;

“(2) conveying to students that the use of illicit drugs and the unlawful possession and use of alcohol is wrong and harmful;

“(3) standards of conduct that are applicable to students and employees in all applicant’s schools and that clearly prohibit, at a minimum, the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees on school premises or as part of any of its activities;

“(4) a clear statement that sanctions (consistent with local, State, and Federal law), up to and including expulsion or termination of employment and referral for prosecution, will be imposed on students and employees who violate the standards of conduct required by paragraph (3) and  a description of those sanctions;

“(5) information about any available drug and alcohol counseling and rehabilitation and re-entry program that are available to students and employees;

“(6) a requirement that parents, students, and employees be given a copy of the standards of conduct required by paragraph (3) and the statement of sanctions required by paragraph (4);

“(7) notifying parents, students, and employees that compliance with the standards of conduct required by paragraph (3) is mandatory;

“(8) a biennial review by applicant of its program to

            (A) determine its effectiveness and implement changes to the program if they are needed; and

            (B) ensure that the sanctions required by paragraph (4) are consistently enforced.