Legislative Alert from Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

URGENT--Ensure That ESEA Reauthorization Includes Substance Use/Abuse Prevention Reauthorization
 
BACKGROUND
President Obama recently released his Blueprint for Reform, which broadly outlines his proposal for how the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization (formerly known as No Child Left Behind) should be structured. In it, he recommends creating a new Successful, Safe and Healthy Students program, which would be a competitive grant program for states and local education agencies (LEAs) under which a very limited number of grantees could address their school climate issues. There is no specific mandate that grantees must address substance use and abuse prevention as a condition of their funding.

The President's Blueprint is a recommendation to Congress. Congress will determine the final content and structure of the ESEA reauthorization. Congress is extremely interested in hearing from their constituents about what ESEA reauthorization should contain.

Given that the State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities program has been eliminated, it is critical to ensure that substance use/abuse (defined as the use or abuse of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs and/or the misuse/abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medication and products) is required to be explicitly addressed and that every state receives funding in the reauthorization.

Congress needs to hear from the field en masse that the ESEA reauthorization must include:

1. Required funding to explicitly deal with substance use/abuse prevention and intervention in all states and in the maximum number of LEAs within each state;
2. An explicit, required focus on substance use/abuse prevention in all states and in the maximum number of LEAs within each state;
3. Accountability by requiring appropriate state and local data collection for substance use/abuse specific metrics over time; and
4. Appropriate linkages to relevant state departments, and community coalitions, groups and resources that address substance use/abuse issues

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Using CADCA's CapWiz system, fax the members of your congressional delegation. The members of the House and Senate are currently working on the ESEA reauthorization. It is imperative that you flood your members with faxes to ensure that the ESEA reauthorization contains the above listed provisions.

YOUR FAX WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
The more letters the Hill receives on this issue, the more likely we are to ensure that schools are explicitly required to address substance use/abuse prevention.
After you have faxed the members of your congressional delegation, send this alert to everyone else in your network.

TIMING
Fax the members of your congressional delegation immediately. CADCA will alert you when further action must be taken.

CADCA's fax system allows you to automatically fax CADCA's sample letter on this issue to your legislators from CADCA's website. To send faxes to your legislators, go to http://capwiz.com/cadca/home/.