CHANGES COMING FOR SUFFOLK SCHOOL DRUG PREVENTION

In a move that will change the way drug education is taught in
Suffolk County schools, the police commissioner said yesterday that
he is reassigning more than half of the officers in the Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program, or DARE, as part of an amended drug
prevention program.

The program will drop from 26 uniformed officers to 10. Police
Commissioner Richard Dormer said 16 officers will be reassigned to
patrol duty as of January. The 10 remaining officers dedicated
full-time to DARE - which places officers in fifth-, sixth- and
seventh-grade classrooms for a 10-week curriculum - would be
available to help teachers, he added.

It could not be immediately determined yesterday how much it costs
the department to participate in DARE, but Dormer said the move to
revamp the program was not a cost-saving measure. "I ask everybody
out there to give this a chance," he said. "I think it's the right
thing to do and the right way to go."

Project DARE, begun in 1983 in Los Angeles, is the most widely used
school-based U.S. drug prevention program. It has been taught in
Suffolk since 1988.

The controversial but popular program has drawn criticism over the
years for its lack of impact. In a 2002 study, the federal
government's General Accounting Office found no "significant
differences" in illicit drug use between students who took DARE
courses and those who didn't.

Dormer said his department is teaming up with the county's health
department and Eastern-Suffolk BOCES to offer the Enhanced
HEALTHSmart Curriculum. Under the plan, BOCES will train teachers who
will instruct students on topics ranging from alcohol and drugs to
sexually transmitted diseases and Internet safety. DARE officers will
offer supplemental instructions.

"If the commissioners in our health and police departments, as well
as BOCES, believe this approach can increase the number of students
and the amount of grades reached by this program, it is worth
consideration," Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said yesterday
through a spokesman.

A move in 2001 by then-Commissioner John Gallagher to replace DARE
sparked a storm of controversy, including a public hearing and a
letter-writing campaign. Gallagher eventually backed off the plan.

Many lawmakers contacted over the past two days said they have not
heard of changes to DARE, but several, including Legis. Cameron Alden
(R-Islip) and Lynne Nowick (R-St. James), oppose the move.

Alden plans to introduce a measure to bar changes to DARE without the
legislature's approval. "There was never a case presented to us to do
away with DARE," Alden said. "And I have not seen one shred of
evidence that his [Dormer's] new program is effective."

Helping kids say 'no'

Comparing Suffolk police's current anti-drug curriculum with the new
one beginning next year.

NUMBER OF SESSIONS

Current anti-drug curriculum DARE Program: Ten sessions taught in 5th
or 6th grade; seven in 7th grade

Program starting January 2008 Enhanced HEALTHSmart curriculum: 240
sessions taught in K06; 75 sessions taught in 7th or 8th grade; 75
sessions taught in 9th or 10th grade

WHO TEACHES

Current anti-drug curriculum DARE Program: 26 police officers

Program starting January 2008 Enhanced HEALTHSmart curriculum:
State-certified educators, 10 officers

LESSON TOPICS

Current anti-drug curriculum DARE Program: Tobacco, alcohol, drugs,
safety, peer pressure

Program starting January 2008 Enhanced HEALTHSmart curriculum:
Tobacco, alcohol, drugs, nutrition, exercise, bullying, unintended
pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, Internet safety

STUDENTS REACHED

Current anti-drug curriculum DARE Program: 19,000 5th -graders,
12,000 7th- graders in 202 schools in five western towns

Program starting January 2008 Enhanced HEALTHSmart curriculum: 42,000
K-12 students in 148 schools countywide