A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Supplemental Nonregulatory Guidance
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act
Principles of Effectiveness

17. Has ED published an "official" or exhaustive list of drug and violence prevention programs that can be supported with Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act funds?

1. No. ED has not issued, and has no plans to issue, a list of specific programs that are eligible to be supported with SDFSCA funds.

   Recipients of SDFSCA State and Local Grants Program funds must use funds to implement programs that meet the standards established in the SDFS Principles of Effectiveness. Programs that meet these standards have demonstrated effectiveness or promise of effectiveness in preventing youth drug use, violence, or disruptive behavior, or other behaviors or attitudes demonstrated to be precursors to or predictors of drug use or violence. Recipients that choose to implement "promising" programs (i.e. programs that may be effective but have not been rigorously evaluated) must be able at the end of no more than two years to demonstrate to the entity providing their SDFSCA grant funds that the program has been effective in reducing or preventing drug use, violence or disruptive behavior, or in modifying behaviors or attitudes demonstrated to be precursors to or predictors of drug use or violence.

   In order to provide technical assistance in implementing the SDFS Principles of Effectiveness, a draft publication titled "Applying Effective Strategies" was distributed at the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program's "Implementing the Principles of Effectiveness Conference" held from June 7-10, 1998 in Washington, DC. This draft publication was prepared by Education Development Center, ED's Region I Comprehensive Technical Assistance Center. From time to time, ED commissions papers by independent experts who review and analyze the effectiveness of various prevention programs, and ED may provide these paper to grantees and the public for their information as part of technical assistance efforts. However, the opinions of contractors or grantees are not necessarily those of ED and no official endorsement of specific curricula is implied or should be inferred from ED's support for or distribution of technical assistance materials. In fact, Section 4132(b) of the SDFSCA prohibits the Secretary of Education from prescribing the use of specific curricula for programs supported with SDFSCA funds.

   ED is also supporting the implementation of an Expert Panel process. The process includes developing criteria for the identification of "exemplary" and "promising" drug and violence prevention programs by a panel of independent experts, a significant outreach effort to encourage submission of a broad range of programs for review against these criteria, and identification of programs meeting the established criteria. The programs identified by this process will by no means constitute an "official" or exhaustive list of programs that meet the standard established by the Principles of Effectiveness, and recipients will continue to have flexibility in selecting programs as long as they meet the standard established by the Principles of Effectiveness.

17. May a State establish a list of youth programs found to be effective to support program planning by SDFSCA State and Local Grants Program recipients in their State?

1. As part of its effort to provide technical assistance to SDFSCA State and Local Grants Program recipients, a State may develop a list of programs that it believes meets the standards established in the SDFS Principles of Effectiveness for an effective youth program. In using such a list as part of its efforts to select a program, a recipient should also carefully consider the results of its needs assessment and established goals for the program. States must also provide flexibility and time to permit SDFSCA State and Local Grants funds recipients to demonstrate that additional, existing programs can meet the standard established for effective youth programs. States must inform recipients of the deadline for demonstrating effectiveness, and specify what criteria they will use to determine if a recipient has successfully demonstrated that a youth program has been effective in changing behaviors or attitudes as detailed in the description of effective youth programs.