| Tips for Developing School Policy | Tips for Enforcing School Policy | Summary Sheet for Florida Violence Prevention Curriculum

• Provide a rationale for the policy. For example, what is its underlying philosophy? What are the long-term outcomes the school hopes to achieve by implementing the policy?

• Include a clear, positive statement about the behaviors the school expects students (and staff) to exhibit. For example, are students expected to be courteous and to show respect for others, and are those behaviors clearly defined for students? Are teachers expected to model those behaviors?

• Include provisions for prevention, intervention, and rehabilitation or treatment. For example, are there specific school policies related to substance use prevention? What about violence prevention? Are there policies to target the precursors of problem behaviors, such as name calling and threats? What is the school policy on handling violent acts and substance use on school grounds or at school events? How are repeat offenders or users handled? Where are students referred for treatment? Are parents kept abreast of any problems their children might be having with substance use or delinquent behavior?

• Coordinate school policies with community policies regarding substance use and violence. Is the school working closely with specific systems in the community to coordinate the policy? What community agencies help implement specific policies (especially policies that deal with interventions, such as locker searches, and with treatment, such as family skills-based training, counseling, or in-home support)?

• Include clear consequences for infractions. For example, do students know and understand what will happen when they violate a specific policy?

• Include rewards and recognition for those who behave appropriately. For example, what mechanisms exist to ensure that people are recognized for positive behavior?

• Communicate policy information to students, faculty, parents, and the community. Do students and parents receive written information that clearly outlines their rights and responsibilities? Are faculty and other staff trained to implement the policy? Do they understand the many ways in which they can support the policy to make it effective? Do they understand the rationale of the policy?

School policies need not focus on punitive measures, environmental restrictions, or behavior codes to reduce substance use and violence among students. Other policies, broader and more far reaching, have great potential in terms of reducing violence and substance use, not just at the school level, but at the district or community level too. These changes in policies and day-to-day practice involve translating lessons learned from specific prevention programs into prevention policies that are integrated into more general school reform efforts.

Adapted from Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R., and Asociates (1992). Communities that care: Action for drug abuse prevention. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; and Drug Strategies (1998). Safe schools, safe students: A guide to violence prevention strategies. Washington, DC: Drug Strategies.