Summary of Federal Laws
Students
Miscellaneous Laws Affecting Students
The Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989 (amends the Higher Education Act)
20 U.S.C. § 1011i; 34 C.F.R. § 86.1 et seq.; 55 Fed. Reg. 33,580 (Aug. 16, 1990)
Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program
This law requires institutions receiving federal financial assistance to establish drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs for students and employees. Students and employees must receive materials annually that contain standards of conduct, a description of the various laws that apply in that jurisdiction regarding alcohol and drugs, a description of the various health risks of drug and alcohol abuse, a description of counseling and treatment programs that are available, and a statement on the sanctions the university will impose for a violation of the standards of conduct.
Biennial Review
The law also requires a biennial review of the program. Effective August 14, 2008, pursuant to amendments in the HEOA, any biennial review must include a determination of the number of drug and alcohol-related violations and fatalities that occur on the institution’s campus or as part of the institution’s activities and the number and type of sanctions imposed by the institution as a result of drug and alcohol-related violations and fatalities that occur on the institution’s campus or as part of the institution’s activities. See the NAICU HEA Quick Guide for more on this expanded recordkeeping requirement and a link to the text of the new law.
Campus is defined in the same manner as it is defined for campus safety reporting purposes, i.e. any building or property owned or controlled by the institution within a reasonably contiguous geographic area used in direct support of the institution’s educational purposes or used by students and supporting institutional purposes. Per the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse practice has been that campuses conduct a biennial review by the end of each even numbered calendar year. The school should keep the biennial review on file in case of a possible audit. Schools are not required to send their review to the Dept. of Education.
Recordkeeping
Recordkeeping requirements include keeping a copy of the biennial review and other compliance documents for three years after the fiscal year in which the record was created 34 C.F.R. § 86.103(b).
Certification
Institutions of higher education must certify to the Secretary of Education that the school has adopted and implemented a program to prevent the use of illicit drugs and the abuse of alcohol by students and employees. This is a one-time certification that should already have been made by most schools as the certification requirement was added to the law in 1989. The regulations are at 34 C.F.R. Part 86. In addition, Section 120 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998 essentially added the same language that is in 20 U.S.C. § 1145(g). It will apparently be codified in Title I.
Resources
Extensive online assistance with drug free compliance requirements is available online through the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention.
The web page above includes a DFSCA Supplemental Checklist as a guide for creating a biennial review.
compliance box links updated 6/3/09 rab
6/13/09 updated by mlo to add related policy and fix links
Last Revised 13-Jun-09 01:02 PM.
