BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Common Council Member Bryan Bollman has proposed bringing back the D.A.R.E. or Drug Abuse Resistance Education program to Buffalo City Schools.
During an Education Committee Meeting Tuesday, Bollman shared how the idea to bring back the program spawned from a Lovejoy Community Meeting at which parents asked why it had ended.
D.A.R.E. has faded out of a lot of districts over the years because of several factors, including a lack of police officers to lead it. Several studies conducted in the early 90s and 2000s also questioned whether the program and its zero-tolerance teaching were effective.
A representative for the Buffalo Public Schools District told the council Tuesday they are "absolutely interested in being at the table for the discussion." The proposal was tabled for further discussion. Bollman said the plan is to further explore the program and discuss it with the Buffalo Police Department and Superintendent Doctor Tonja Williams.
“People have brought up how it was potentially ineffective I say that would be very difficult to quantify, I think it was very effective in my life but I also know that D.A.R.E. has changed their programs up,” said Bollman.
The program underwent a redesign that started in 2009 and the program was relaunched with better results according to further analysis. Rather than the "Just Say No!" slogan of the past, the revamped D.A.R.E. uses "keepin' It REAL," in which REAL stands for Refuse, Explain, Avoid and Leave. D.A.R.E. America says their program now teaches students how to deal with social pressures like drugs and alcohol rather than solely preaching abstinence.
Bollman has proposed using school resource officers to administer the program and looking at other alternatives besides D.A.R.E. While Majority Leader David Rivera said he would support the proposal and sees it as a way to get students more involved with officers, he doesn’t want funding to be forgotten. Council Members Rasheed N.C. Wyatt and Mitch Nowakowski also supported the idea.
“Obviously there will be a cost-benefit analysis on how we would integrate it into our schools. The next step is having a conversation with our superintendent and our police force,” Bollman added.
There is no telling how long those discussions could last so if you are a parent in the district, don't expect a D.A.R.E. folder to come home with your child anytime soon.
The City of Chicago recently re-introduce its program back in April 2020; only time will tell if Buffalo has the desire and funding to follow suit.