Federal Mandates for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention on Campus

Sound prevention efforts not only support student health and safety but can also serve to comply with federal mandates put in place to ensure campus administrators give alcohol, other drug, and violence issues proper attention.

The U.S. Department of Education administers mandates that require virtually all institutions of higher education (IHEs) to provide either documentation or dedicated resources to alcohol and other drug abuse and violence (AODV) prevention:

• The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (DFSCA) and Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Regulations require campuses to certify that they have adopted and implemented programming to prevent the unlawful possession, use, or distribution of illicit drugs and alcohol by students and employees. View the Education Department General Administrative Regulations [EDGAR], including Part 86, the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Regulations.
  
  September 2011: ONDCP Director Gil Kerlikowske and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have released a letter to higher education institutions highlighting President Obama's 2011 National Drug Control Strategy (Strategy). To read the letter, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/ondcp_higher_ed_letter.pdf.

• The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act) requires IHEs to disclose information about crime on their campuses and in the surrounding communities. See the full Clery Act.
  

• The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records and affects how institutions of higher education work with their students concerning AODV disclosure issues. See the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

• The U.S. Department of Education's Web page on The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 describes the most recent amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965.

• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Discrimination can include sexual violence—such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery, and sexual coercion. See Title IX: Sex Discrimination: Overview of the Law.

Satisfying the requirements for these acts does not just protect IHEs from liability. In addition to keeping IHEs in good standing with the U.S. Department of Education, complying with these mandates also helps campus administrators protect the safety and well-being of their students by focusing on AODV prevention.