PUBLIC LAW 101-340—JULY 31, 1990 104 STAT. 385 Public Law 101-340 101st Congress Joint Resolution To designate September 13, 1990, as "National D.A.R.E. Day". Whereas DA.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a comprehensive program under which children from kindergarten through the 12th grade are taught how to resist the pressures of experimenting with drugs and alcohol; Wheresis the DA.R.E. program provides parents with the information and techniques necessary to reinforce and further develop the decisions of their children to lead drug free-lives; Whereas the D.A.R.E. program targets children at ages when they are most vulnerable to extreme peer pressure to try drugs and alcohol and teaches them how effectively to resist pressure to engage in negative behavior; Whereas the D.A.R.E. program is now conducted in local schools in more than 2,000 communities in 49 States and in Department of Defense Overseas Dependent Schools worldwide; Whereas more than 4,500,000 school children will be reached through the D.A.R.E. core curriculum in 1990; Whereas, school children are sometimes more streetwise about substance abuse than are classroom teachers, the D.A.R.E. program is taught by veteran police officers having direct experience with cases involving criminal drug offenses and with people whose lives have been ruined by substance abuse; Whereas each police officer who teaches the D.A.R.E. program completes an 80-hour training course that includes instruction in teaching techniques, relationships between officers and schools, self-esteem development, child development, and communication skills; Whereas the D.A.R.E. curriculum, developed by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School District, helps school children understand self-image, recognize and manage stress without using drugs or alcohol, analyze and resist media presentations about drugs and alcohol, evaluate risk-taking behavior, resist gang pressure, apply decision-making skills, and evaluate the consequences of the choices facing them; Whereas independent research shows that the D.A.R.E program has exceeded its goal of helping students combat peer pressure to use drugs and alcohol by contributing to improved study habits and grades, by reducing vandalism and gang activity, and by instilling greater respect for police officers; and Whereas the D.A.R.E. program has achieved outstanding success teaching positive and effective approaches to one of the most difficult problems facing young people today, namely drug and alcohol abuse: Now, therefore, be it July 31, 1990 [S.J. Res. 281]
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