Agency Mission and Goals
The mission of the U.S. Department of Education is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. This mission, however, cannot be achieved unless schools are safe, disciplined, and drug free. Under the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA), the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program (SDFSP) helps State and local educational agencies develop and operate drug and violence prevention programs that will fulfill the agency's mission.
SDFSP supports national, State, and local initiatives to meet the seventh National Education Goal, which provides that by 2000 all schools will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol, and they will offer a disciplined environment that is conducive to learning. These initiatives are designed to prevent violence in and around schools and strengthen programs that prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. These initiatives emphasize parental involvement and coordination with related Federal, State, and community efforts and resources.
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), in the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, administers the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that establishes the right of all students with disabilities, including students in "State correctional facilities," to a "free appropriate public education." In recent years, strong links have been established between some disability conditions, such as learning disabilities and emotional/behavioral disorders, and students who are at risk or who are in juvenile correctional facilities.
Activities and Priorities Relating to Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
SDFSP provides assistance to States and public and private nonprofit organizations. Assistance includes:
Assistance provided to public and private nonprofit organizations is used to conduct training, demonstration, and evaluation programs and to support classroom teaching and supplementary services for the prevention of drug use and violence among students and youth.
Under IDEA, OSEP provides formula and discretionary grants to States, local education agencies, and public and private nonprofit organizations to improve services for students with disabilities. Specific grants have been awarded to prepare personnel to work with adolescents in detention and correctional centers and to conduct research on the institution-to-community transition experiences of such adolescents.
SDFSP is working cooperatively with a number of Federal agencies on programs and activities relating to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention, including the following:
In addition to these collaborative efforts, SDFSP is participating in a governmentwide effort to develop a strategy to help constituent groups understand issues related to HIV/AIDS. SDFSP has developed a strategy that has been submitted to the White House Office for HIV/AIDS for review. SDFSP also is a member of the Black American Progress Working Group, which is charged with reviewing and assessing progress toward meeting the Healthy People 2000 goals related to African Americans, including the development of drug and violence prevention and health curriculums in schools.
SDFSP participates on the Interdepartmental Working Group on Violence Research, which meets bimonthly to discuss issues related to priorities for research, ongoing research, and methods for collaboration. SDFSP participates as a member of Project PACT (Pulling America's Communities Together) through which all Federal agencies involved in violence prevention combine resources to develop a coordinated violence prevention strategy. SDFSP also participates in the President's Crime Prevention Council. As part of this involvement, SDFSP contributed to the development of a manual of violence prevention programs and the establishment of a grant competition program in EZ/EC areas to provide funds for coordinators of violence prevention programs.
SDFSP contributes to the national drug prevention strategy by participating in the Office of National Drug Control Policy initiatives related to media literacy and development of counselor training and certification guidelines. SDFSP is also engaged in three interagency agreements with the National Audiovisual Center to provide reproduction and dissemination of videos and materials related to drug and violence prevention.
OSEP has placed an emphasis on collaboration as a cross-cutting theme of its national agenda to improve outcomes for students with, or at risk of, serious emotional disturbances. OJJDP was a cosponsor of an OSEP national teleconference on "Making Collaboration Work," and OSEP's planned national Information Center To Promote Collaboration and Communication will exchange information on effective practices across education, mental health, and juvenile justice agencies at Federal, State, and local levels.
The following program priorities have been established for discretionary grant programs in FY 1996 for SDFSP:
FY 1996 discretionary projects in OSEP include the following priorities:
FY 1995 funds for SDFSP totaled $466 million, or approximately 1.4 percent of the total departmental budget ($32.9 billion).
FY 1995 funds for OSEP totaled $3.25 billion, about 10 percent of the total departmental budget.
Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-382, Title IV (1994), reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-227, Title VII (1994) enacted in March 1994, reauthorized as part of the Improving America's Schools Act in October 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-382.
Pro-Children Act of 1994, enacted as part of Goals 2000: Educate America Act, March 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-227.
Safe Schools Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-227, Title VII (1994).
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-476 (1990).