CURRICULUM CHANGES TO TARGET SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Students in Grade 10 will soon be required to learn about the consequences
of alcohol and drug abuse in order to graduate.

"Every child everywhere in British Columbia who graduates from our high
schools will have to have a core understanding of the impact of substance
abuse," Education Minister Christy Clark said Thursday morning.

"And I think that's really timely, at this part of the year especially,
given that we've seen some tragic accidents, and kids are out at grad
parties and probably some of them experimenting with substance abuse."

Clark revealed the planned curriculum change to a panel of education
reporters from Lower Mainland Publishing Group newspapers, which includes
the Record.

The information on substance abuse will be integrated into the new 'planning
10' course, which the provincial government recently announced with other
changes to graduation requirements as a replacement for the 'career and
personal planning (CAPP) 10' course.

"It will be a key component of (planning 10)," Clark said. "But the
important thing about it is, it will be consistent across the province and
it will be evidence-based."

Clark said ministry officials were working with the curriculum in hopes of
implementing it by this September, but it might have to wait until September
2004.

Clark said current substance abuse education is "spotty" across B.C.

"I think in some districts they do a lot of it, in some districts they don't
do very much of it," she said.

"So school districts can continue to offer supplementary programming, if
they'd like to do that. _ But we want to make sure that it is embedded in
the curriculum and that every child learns about it before they get into a
car and go to a grad party.

"And I think the time to do that is in Grade 10 when kids are starting to _
become acquainted with some of these behaviours. _

"This won't be the cure-all - there's no question about that - but it's, I
think, part of the puzzle."