Posted: | December 4, 2014 02:01 PM |
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From: | Senator Stewart J. Greenleaf |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Office for Safe Schools: substance abuse |
I am reintroducing Senate Bill 121, amending 1949 Act 14, known as the Public School Code of 1949, to require the Office for Safe Schools to collect and disseminate information about substance abuse. The General Assembly enacted 1995 Act 26, amending the Public School Code to establish the Office for Safe Schools in the Department of Education. The office is a clearinghouse for information about school violence. There have been a variety of studies that have found a very significant link between violence and substance abuse among school age children. My bill amends the Public School Code to further define the responsibilities of the Office for Safe Schools. Since there is a high correlation between school violence and substance abuse, this legislation makes the office responsible for collecting and disseminating information and statistical data about substance abuse among school age children, as well as school violence. Currently, the Office for Safe Schools makes targeted grants to schools to fund programs which address school violence. My legislation directs the office to provide grants for substance abuse prevention programs, as well. I believe that the steps we take to prevent substance abuse by school age children will help to reduce school violence. |
Introduced as SB65