Alcohol and Other Drugs

The mission of the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) is to ensure that every learner has access to a world-class education system that academically prepares children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. Further, the Department seeks to establish a culture that is committed to improving opportunities throughout the commonwealth by ensuring that technical support, resources, and optimal learning environments are available for all students, whether children or adults.

If you know of other resources or programming that may be helpful, we invite you to share them with us. Please send n​​ew resources to damilakovi@pa.gov for review.

Help for Selecting and Implementing Programs

Community Partners
Local county drug and alcohol offices (also referred to as a Single County Authority), can help schools identify their needs, select prevention programs, and implement prevention programs. Schools are strongly encouraged to reach out to their local county drug and alcohol office for guidance or assistance with identifying prevention programs to implement. Many counties or school districts have coalitions, such as Communities That Care, that also support schools in planning and implementing prevention programs.

Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS)
School district data from the Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS) is an important resource for identifying student needs and the factors influencing student substance use. This information can be used to help guide selection of prevention programs. The PAYS Workbook and How-to Guide is a tool to help in analyzing PAYS data. Local county drug and alcohol offices and coalitions may also be able to assist in analyzing PAYS data.

Training Resources
A video series was created in accordance with Act 55 of 2017 that required the development and provision of a professional development program that includes information necessary to prepare for the teaching of this yearly mandated instruction, and ensured that education professionals who complete the professional development program may apply this training to their continuing education requirements. The video series, School-Based Primary Prevention: A Key to Combating the Opioid Epidemic can be accessed on the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Program's website. This video series is also available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education Standard Aligned Systems (SAS) in order to receive Act 48 credits.