WEST virginia Legislature

2017 regular session

Introduced

House Bill 2195

By Delegates Rohrbach, Cooper, Rowan, Hornbuckle, Ambler, Hicks, Sobonya, Frich and Thompson

[Introduced February 8, 2017; Referred
to the Committee on Select Committee on Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse then Education.]

A BILL to amend  and reenact §18-2-7b of the Code of West Virginia,1931, as amended, relating to requiring comprehensive drug awareness and prevention program in all public schools; requiring county boards to implement no later than 2017-2018 school year; specifying purposes of program; requiring county boards to coordinate delivery of instruction to meet program purposes with educators, drug rehabilitation specialists and law-enforcement agencies; and requiring instruction relating to interactions with law-enforcement officers.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §18-2-7b of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted, to read as follows:

ARTICLE 2. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.

§18-2-7b. Programs in drug prevention and violence reduction.

(a) In order for the schools to become healthy learning environments and to provide a strong defense against drug use and violence, the State Board of Education shall prescribe programs within the existing health and physical education program which teach resistance and life skills to counteract societal and peer pressure to use drugs, alcohol and tobacco, and shall include counselors, teachers and staff in full implementation of the program. The board shall also prescribe programs to coordinate violence reduction efforts in schools and between schools and their communities and to train students, teachers, counselors and staff in conflict resolution skills. The program shall be comprehensive, interdisciplinary and shall begin in elementary school. The state board shall report to the Legislative Oversight commission on education accountability on the status of the programs no later than July 1, 1995

(b) No later than the start of the 2017-2018 school year, each county board shall implement comprehensive drug awareness and prevention programs for all students in grades K through 12 to receive instruction regarding the dangers of substance abuse. The purpose of the drug awareness and prevention program is to:

(1) Keep students from illegally using alcohol, tobacco or other drugs;

(2) Reduce or eliminate the incidence and prevalence of student’s alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse;

(3) Reduce the factors that place students at risk of abusing alcohol, tobacco or other drugs through school and a community based planning processes;

(4) Contribute to the development of school environments and alternative activities that are alcohol, tobacco and drug-free;

(5) Increase the knowledge and skills of students, staff and community members for avoiding the harmful effects of alcohol, tobacco and drug use, and of blood borne pathogens; and

(6) Actively involve staff, students, parents and community members in the development and implementation of the drug awareness and prevention program plans.

(c) The county board shall coordinate the delivery of instruction to meet the purposes of subsection (b) of this section with, including but not limited to, educators, drug rehabilitation specialists and law-enforcement agencies to periodically provide opportunities for those agencies to provide age appropriate student education on their experiences with the impacts of illegal alcohol and drug use.  The program shall also facilitate an understanding and appreciation of the risks to, duties of, and likely actions by law-enforcement officers when conducting investigations. The instruction shall include how to respond to an officer during a vehicular or other stop or police interaction, including problematic or dangerous action and behaviors that could result in a person being detained or arrested.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require county boards of education to implement comprehensive drug awareness and prevention programs for all student in grades K through 12.  The programs are to provide instruction regarding the dangers of substance abuse and must be coordinated with drug rehabilitation specialists and law-enforcement agencies to periodically provide them opportunities for age appropriate student education on the impacts of illegal alcohol and drug use.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.