Launched in 1983, D.A.R.E. is a comprehensive K-12 prevention education program taught in thousands of schools in America, as well as many other countries. Taught by highly trained law enforcement officers, D.A.R.E. Education Programs deliver science/evidence-based curricula that teach students good decision-making skills that will help them lead safe and healthy lives and cope with high risk circumstances including drugs, alcohol, violence, bullying, and internet safety. Since 2018, more than 250 communities throughout the United States launched a newD.A.R.E. Elementary, middle, and high school curricula, as well as critical enhancement lessons on subjects including opioid abuse prevention, vaping, and teen suicide, are now being taught in these communities by officers who attended one of the 75 two-week, intensive D.A.R.E. training courses conducted since 2018. More than 2,000 new D.A.R.E. Officers from virtually every state in America were graduated. D.A.R.E. curricula have been proven effective and evidence-based through multiple studies.

A comprehensive study completed in 2021 by UNC Greensboro – the only one ever conducted reviewing a prevention education curricula taught by law enforcement officers rather than teachers – concluded D.A.R.E. keepin’ it REAL Elementary School Curriculum is Evidence-based, Successful and Effective. Multiple studies have been conducted that have established that the keepin’ it REAL elementary and middle school curricula are effective. When someone asks if D.A.R.E. is “evidence-based,” what do they mean? They mean is research available showing that the curriculum is effective in reducing outcomes such as drug use, bullying and other problem behaviors by improving the decision-making and other skills of those who were exposed to the lessons compared to those who were not? The soon to be published comprehensive study is the only one ever conducted reviewing any prevention education curricula taught by law enforcement officers, rather than teachers. After a review that considered multiple criteria, D.A.R.E. America partnered with Pennsylvania State University to develop and adopt the keepin’ it REAL drug prevention curriculum.

An effective multicultural curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and based on the powerful Social Emotional Learning approach. This curriculum teaches the foundational skills that youth need to be safe, healthy, and responsible in leading drug-free lives. D.A.R.E. America recognizes that its comprehensive pre K-12 curricula are only one, although a potentially significant part of an overall and comprehensive approach to drug use and abuse. It is important to note that all law enforcement agencies are officially committed to the mission of reducing the supply of drugs (i.e., supply reduction) as well as reducing the demand (demand reduction) for drugs via prevention.

D.A.R.E. IS SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION EDUCATION AND MUCH MORE!

Facing unparalleled drug abuse among our youth in the 1970’s and early 1980’s, visionary Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates and the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1983 launched an unprecedented and innovative substance abuse prevention education program – Drug Abuse Resistance Education. These lessons in the comprehensive Opioid series develop student familiarity with the extent of the opioid epidemic in the United States and it’s origins in the misuse of prescription drugs. Students will learn about overdose, the specific risks teens face, how to keep safe in age-related contexts, and how to access help for self or others. Students will consider options for controlling this national crisis. In contrast, the length of training for most other prevention programs is only 2-3 days and is usually offered only to existing classroom teachers. Further, these programs offer neither a nationwide training system for instructors nor a rigorous process to ensure that training centers are accredited.

D.A.R.E. offers the most comprehensive prevention curricula available for K-12 students anywhere. The curriculum meets multiple National Core Standards in the areas of Reading (Literature, Informational Text, and Foundational Skills), Writing and Speaking and Learning. The 10 lessons in D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL elementary curriculum are aligned with National Common Core 5th grade standards. D.A.R.E. curricula provide students the knowledge and skills to make good decisions for safe and healthy living. D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL elementary and middle-school curricula are based on Socio-Emotional Learning Theory which identifies basic skills and processes needed for healthy youth development. Beyond this, D.A.R.E.’s enhancement lessons include bullying, cyber security, a supplemental marijuana lesson, family talks, and the recently launched K-12 Opioid & & Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention lessons.

Watch Dr. David Wyrick, President of Prevention Stategies and Professor of Public Health at UNC Greensboro, present the evaluation’s results at the 34th D.A.R.E. International Training Conference attended by more than 1,300 D.A.R.E. officers, educators, and government officials from 28 different countries. Multiple government organizations and institutions, as well as highly respected journals, have endorsed and favorably reported upon D.A.R.E.’s keepin’ it REAL curricula. This year millions of school children around the world will benefit from D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education), the highly acclaimed program that gives kids the skills they need to avoid involvement in drugs, gangs, and violence. This presentation dare definition examples is designed for D.A.R.E officers to discuss underage drinking, legal and personal ramifications of alcohol use, and providing safety tips for celebrations.

Teaching Students DecisionMaking for Safe and Healthy Living

These officers were trained by the Hawai’i D.A.R.E. Training Center’s cadre of Honolulu Police Department from… The Hawai‘i Police Department and its school resource officers send congratulations to the 2024 graduates of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, also known as D.A.R.E. East Hawai’i students from Hilo Intermediate, Waiākea Intermediate… The Florida Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program graduated 27 sworn officers from 12 law enforcement agencies last week. FDLE is the state coordinator for D.A.R.E. and members Inspector David Bullard and Research and Training Specialist Lee Herring… The Center lists keepin’ it REAL as “research validated”…its equivalent of an evidence-based ranking. With each passing year, D.A.R.E.’s success was seen in classrooms and homes leading to rapid growth and expansion.

In 2008, D.A.R.E. launched keepin’ it REAL in middle schools; in 2013, D.A.R.E. launched kiR’s elementary school curricula. The Commission’s report identifies keepin’ it REAL as one such intervention programs. The basic 80 hour D.A.R.E. Officer Training (DOT) allows a police officer or sheriff deputy to teach both the elementary curriculum and the middle school curriculum,  as well as the high school curriculum.

Top Benefits of Drug Abuse Resistance Education – Why It Still Matters in 2025

D.A.R.E.’s elementary, middle and high school curricula, as well as its enhancement lessons on subjects that include bullying, internet safety, and over-the-counter prescription drug and opiates abuse, have been developed through partnerships with highly respected universities and prevention education experts. Each curriculum has been developed and approved under the guidance of D.A.R.E. America’s Scientific Advisory Committee chaired by Richard Clayton, Ph.D. D.A.R.E. has partnered with prestigious educational institutions to adapt curricula proven to be effective. The D.A.R.E. keepin’ it REAL (kiR) middle school curriculum was developed by Pennsylvania State and Arizona State Universities with funding provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

  • FDLE is the state coordinator for D.A.R.E. and members Inspector David Bullard and Research and Training Specialist Lee Herring…
  • The D.A.R.E. kiR elementary curriculum is currently the subject of rigorous scientific evaluation, results of a preliminary evaluation of the curriculum conducted by Chapman University showed positive outcomes.
  • D.A.R.E. offers the most comprehensive prevention curricula available for K-12 students anywhere.
  • It is important to note that all law enforcement agencies are officially committed to the mission of reducing the supply of drugs (i.e., supply reduction) as well as reducing the demand (demand reduction) for drugs via prevention.

Early Grades  Core

After the program’s rapid and expansive growth in the 1980’s and recognizing its growing national demand, D.A.R.E.’s early community leaders founded D.A.R.E. America in 1989 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization to oversee, guide, and manage its development and national and international expansion. For more than three decades, D.A.R.E. has also been an international program with its curricula having been taught in more than 28 other countries. Visit our robust website full of things to see and do on our city including pre-made itineraries based on your interest.

Only the cost of a student’s D.A.R.E. workbook/planner that costs $1.65 for the elementary school workbook; $1.55 for the middle school workbook; and $1.35 for the high school workbook. D.A.R.E. provides children with an opportunity to learn and practice good decision-making skills to lead safe and healthy lives. Through KARE, D.A.R.E. also gives to children’s hospitals and other children’s charities and shelters.

  • 1 in 5 U.S. adolescents aged have experienced a serious mental health disorder.
  • When someone asks if D.A.R.E. is “evidence-based,” what do they mean?
  • And it also needs the intelligent comments and recommendations of the program’s audience – school children.
  • D.A.R.E. curricula provide students the knowledge and skills to make good decisions for safe and healthy living.

Students watch videos from Song for Charlie to view and discuss case studies of other teens who have accidentally overdosed and died from fentanyl poisoning (believing they were taking one substance when it was adulterated with another). Students discuss and clarify misperceptions about Narcan effectiveness and synthetics and review the accurate information that will actually keep them safe. Since its earliest beginning, D.A.R.E. has been a highly decentralized program building upon its strong foundation of collaboration at the local level between school districts and educators, law enforcement agencies and their officers, and families and students. Today, it’s the largest program of its kind that also develops and reinforces school and community-based prevention and community-oriented policing.

D.A.R.E. is the only international drug prevention curricula to hold consultative status with the Committee on Non-Government Organizations of the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The acronym REAL is the central message of the curriculum and teaches youth four ways to refuse drug offers — Refuse, Explain, Avoid, and Leave. These strategies help youth stay away from drugs by preparing them to act decisively and responsibly in difficult situations. The curriculum teaches students how to resist drugs offers by presenting practical strategies that are easy for them to remember and use. If D.A.R.E. is not currently in your community, begin by talking to other like-minded parents and caregivers and approach the local school administrator/principal to discuss your concerns and your interest in the D.A.R.E. program.

As each decade passed and success increased, the challenges facing children and families also grew. Today, through the leadership of D.A.R.E.’s dedicated Board of Directors, and the tireless commitment and hard work of tens of thousands of officers and educators throughout America and around the globe, D.A.R.E strives each day to achieve its vital mission… to fulfill a vision. A uniformed law enforcement officer that’s certified by state and who’s been specially trained to teach D.A.R.E. to your kids. D.A.R.E. was founded in 1983 and has proven so successful that it has been implemented in thousands of schools throughout the United States and many other countries. Discuss misperceptions about risks and consequences related to prescription pill use. Consider and discuss the adulteration of prescription pills with fentanyl.

The two high school curriculums were developed by Rutgers University and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro respectively. These curricula have been proven effective through rigorous scientific evaluations. The D.A.R.E. kiR elementary curriculum is currently the subject of rigorous scientific evaluation, results of a preliminary evaluation of the curriculum conducted by Chapman University showed positive outcomes. Over the past three years, 118 D.A.R.E. Officer Trainings have certified 2,458 law enforcement officers to teach D.A.R.E.’s evidence-based and proven effective keepin’ it REAL elementary and middle school curricula and myPlaybook high school curriculum. The D.A.R.E. keepin’ it REAL (kiR) middle school curriculum was developed by Pennsylvania State and Arizona State Universities with funding provided by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.