Assessing the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act

Assessing the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act

PI(s): Peter Reuter and Michael Timpane

Funded by: U.S. Department of Education

Since the early 1990s the federal government's Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program has distributed some half billion dollars to schools, who have used it to operate a wide variety of programs that serve the different, though sometimes complementary, objectives of drug abuse prevention, violence prevention, and the creation of safe educational environments. However, it is unclear whether the schools' programs contribute to accomplishing SDFSC objectives. As Congress approached the program's reauthorization in 1999, RAND, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute's Program on Education in a Changing Society, held a three-day conference, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from drug-and violence-prevention programs, behavior modification programs conducted in school settings, and school reform programs. Attendees addressed a central question: What can the federal government do to enhance the significance, appeal, and effectiveness of SDFSC? The conference illustrated how RAND's research and policy analysis can play a critical role in informing national policies.