The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) in the U.S. Department of Education is one of the most important incubators of effective school-based prevention and health promotion programming today. OSDFS has its roots in the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program, first authorized by Congress in 1986 as a response to alarmingly high rates of alcohol and other drug use among children and youth. Previously, the Department had funded only technical assistance activities related to drug prevention, at a total of about $3 million annually.

Through the SDFSC program, the Department made grants totaling $200 million in fiscal year 1987, the first year of funding. The amount increased steadily, reaching $624 million in fiscal year 1992.

In 1994, the SDFSC program was reauthorized as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The most significant change was the inclusion of violence prevention activities and a focus on school safety. As noted by OSDFS Associate Deputy Under Secretary William Modzeleski in testimony to Congress in 1999, "Since many of the issues related to drug and violence prevention are interrelated, the revised [program] was intended to have school districts develop integrated programs that addressed student `risk factors' that cut across alcohol and other drug use as well as violent behavior."

With expanded funding and grant-making came a growing emphasis on program accountability. Especially significant in setting program accountability standards was the publication in June 1998 of the program's "Principles of Effectiveness." These principles require grant recipients to use objective data to identify their needs, establish measurable goals for their programs, implement programs of demonstrated effectiveness, and assess their progress toward achieving their goals. Throughout, the emphasis is on high-quality programs and results.

Another step in the program's evolution occurred in September 2002 when the Department announced the formation of a successor to the OSDFSC. According to Secretary of Education Rod Paige, OSDFS was designed to bring together into a single unit programs that were previously scattered among several different offices. "Folding all programs that deal with safety, health, and citizenship into one office will enable us to better respond to the critical needs of schools in these areas and also help us to develop a broad-based, comprehensive strategy," Paige said.

The 2005 proposed federal budget includes $838.9 million for OSDFS programs. Of this, $440.9 million is slated for SDFSC State Grants to provide sustained support for drug and violence prevention programs in school districts and communities throughout the country. Among the many different programs administered directly by OSDFS, especially noteworthy in relation to social and emotional learning are the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, which OSDFS carries out in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); the Mentoring Program, which pairs at-risk youth with older mentors, a strategy that has been proven effective in many different settings; and the Character Education and Civic Education programs, which support activities to help students understand, care about, and act on core ethical and citizenship values.

The scope of all the OSDFS programs far exceeds the limitations of this article. For more details, go to http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/programs.html.

Source: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (June 2004) e-newsletter.