Report: Ohio schools should report drug prevention efforts to the state

A panel of lawmakers and behavioral health officials are pushing for Ohio schools to begin reporting to the state how they are teaching students about the dangers of drug abuse (Source: “Ohio schools should report drug prevention efforts to state, Attorney General Mike DeWine says,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 10, 2017).

The recommendation is one of 15 to improve drug use prevention education made in a report released earlier this month by Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine.

The Ohio Joint Study Committee on Drug Use Prevention Education was formed last August to study how schools are teaching drug use prevention and recommend best practices as the state battles the heroin and opioid epidemic. DeWine said that schools should have to report what curricula they're using in which grades. DeWine said some schools have established solid drug prevention programs, but there's no consistency statewide.

Ohio law requires schools to teach about "the harmful effects of and legal restrictions against the use of drugs of abuse, alcoholic beverages, and tobacco." But the state board of education is not allowed to set statewide health standards without the approval of the Ohio General Assembly.