H.B. 500
128th General Assembly
(As Introduced)
Reps. Yuko, Pryor, DeGeeter, Letson, Chandler, Hagan
BILL SUMMARY
· Requires public schools to provide a concentrated two-week substance abuse prevention program to students in every grade each May.
· Applies the new substance abuse curriculum requirement to community schools and STEM schools.
· Requires the State Board of Education to adopt guidelines for the development of a substance abuse prevention curriculum.
· Designates May as "Substance Abuse Awareness and Education Month."
CONTENT AND OPERATION
(R.C. 3313.60(A), 3313.6016, 3314.03(A)(11)(d), and 3326.11)
Current law requires school districts to include in their health curricula instruction in substance abuse prevention. Specifically, districts must provide instruction on the harmful effects and legal ramifications against the use of drugs of abuse, alcohol, or tobacco.
The bill expands the current requirement to provide that, every year, all students in kindergarten through twelfth grade must receive a specified number of hours of substance abuse education. Moreover, the bill removes the subject from the health curriculum and makes substance abuse prevention instruction a separate curriculum requirement. It also specifically applies the new requirement to community schools and STEM schools.[1]
While schools may offer substance abuse instruction at various points in the year, under the bill, each school must have a concentrated substance abuse education program during the second and third weeks in May. During this two-week period, students in kindergarten through ninth grade must receive at least 16 hours of substance abuse instruction, while students in tenth through twelfth grade must receive at least eight hours.
The bill also elaborates on the required content of the new substance abuse curriculum. To the extent determined by the district board or school governing authority to be age- and grade-appropriate, the instruction must:
(1) Discourage students from using alcohol, tobacco, and controlled substances;
(2) Teach students about the physical, mental, and social effects of substance abuse;
(3) Inform students about resources available for individuals with chemical dependency problems;
(4) Teach skills needed to evaluate advertisements and media portrayals of alcohol, tobacco, and controlled substances; and
(5) Provide information on the legal implications of substance abuse.
Additionally, all students must take a final examination or complete a final project at the conclusion of the concentrated substance abuse education program.
(R.C. 3301.24)
Under the bill, the State Board of Education must adopt guidelines to assist schools in developing this new substance abuse curriculum. The guidelines must include principles for developing age-appropriate examinations or final projects that will be part of the curriculum for each grade. The State Board also may develop principles for the public display of students' final projects.
The bill further directs the Department of Education to provide links on its web site to free substance abuse prevention curricula.
(R.C. 5.2266)
To coincide with the bill's new requirement for schools to offer a concentrated substance abuse education program each May, the bill designates that month as "Substance Abuse Awareness and Education Month."
HISTORY
|
ACTION |
DATE |
|
|
|
|
Introduced |
04-29-10 |
H0500-I-128.docx/jc
[1] Community schools (sometimes referred to as public "charter" schools) and independent STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) schools are not subject to the basic curriculum requirement in R.C. 3313.60. They are subject only to the minimum high school curriculum in R.C. 3313.603(C), not in the bill.