What Schools Can Do

The role of schools in reducing youth access to alcohol

Schools clearly play an important role in preventing underage alcohol use and should be included in all comprehensive, community-based efforts to reduce teen drinking. There is a wide range of activities that schools can undertake to prevent underage drinking, including teaching students alcohol refusal skills and creating and enforcing school policies on alcohol use. Although their role often does not directly focus on reducing underage access to alcohol, schools can and should play a part in reducing access on school property and in the community.

• Prohibit the possession or consumption of alcohol at all school-related activities. If not already in place, schools should create a policy that prohibits alcohol use at any school-related event--even those not held on school property. For example, alcohol possession or consumption should be prohibited for everyone (including parents and other adults) at all sports events, banquets, fundraisers, and teachers' gatherings. If alcohol is available to adults at these events, students may be able to access it. In addition, teachers, parents, and other adults can be good models by not drinking alcohol at any school-related event.
  
  
• Adopt practices to prevent students from bringing alcohol to school or school-related events. Some students may attempt to bring alcoholic beverages to school and school events despite strict policies against this behavior. Examples of policies to reduce or eliminate students from attempting to bring alcohol include:
  • Allow only mesh or see-through bags. Many schools already require students to carry these types of bags instead of backpacks or purses in order to prevent carrying of weapons.
  • Monitor students as they enter the event. Require chaperones to be stationed at the entrances to check suspicious bags and thermoses.
  • Monitor parking lots where underage alcohol use often occurs.
    
  • Prohibit students from re-entering an event once they have left.
    
  
  
• Educate parents about underage access to alcohol and effective measures to reduce it. In addition to educating students, schools should provide parents with tips for preventing underage alcohol use. Typically, schools provide parents with information such as "How to talk to your teen about alcohol" and "How to recognize if your teen is using alcohol." While this information is important, schools should also educate parents about community factors that influence their teens' access to alcohol. Schools can also provide parents with tips for preventing access to alcohol in their homes, such as keeping alcohol out of the home, monitoring it, or storing it in locked cabinets.
  
  
• Initiate or participate in community-based prevention activities to reduce youth access to alcohol. School personnel, including principals, counselors, chemical health coordinators and teachers, are often influential in their community and can be key players in efforts to reduce youth access to alcohol. For example, a school chemical health coordinator can work with other community members to conduct compliance checks to reduce illegal sales of alcohol to youth (see compliance checks), or a principal can meet with city council members to encourage the passage of local ordinances to reduce youth access to alcohol.

Resources

Making the Grade: A Guide to School Drug Prevention Program. A comprehensive review of school programs to prevent alcohol, tobacco and drug use.

Contact:
Drug Strategies
1755 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 821
Washington, DC 20036
202-289-9070
www.drugstrategies.org

Back to:

Community Institutions