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Project: Substance Abuse Prevention: Healthy Habits for Youth

Virginia

Scope

Region 5 CC is assisting the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) in preparing to identify high-quality instructional materials to address a need and legislative mandate of developing a PreK-12 Cannabis Education Initiative with an enactment clause which impacts health education through the addition of cannabis as a harmful drug, research on effects on the developing brain of youth, professional learning opportunities for communities, parents, educators, school staff and students and use of evidence-based resources.  The initial task is assisting VDOE with the development of a comprehensive plan and a budget.  Once approved, and when the resources are identified, the plan will be implemented and monitored.

High-Leverage Problem

In June 2021, the Commonwealth of Virginia's legislative body passed legislation which legalized the possession and use of marijuana for persons 21 years of age or older.  Components of the legislation included limits on the amount of cannabis that an individual can possess; allowed cultivation of up to four (4) marijuana plants which cannot be ""visible to the public eye""; take precautions to keep plants out of the hands of minors; seal and expunge past misdemeanor marijuana convictions; made it illegal to consume marijuana in public, on school grounds and while driving and; allocated funding for public health and safety campaigns, training for law enforcement officers to prevent and recognize "impaired driving."  Additionally, the 2021 marijuana legalization legislation included the following enactment clause.

18. That the Virginia Department of Education (the Department), with assistance from appropriate agencies, local school divisions, and appropriate experts, shall implement a plan to ensure that teachers have access to sufficient information, resources, and lesson ideas to assist them in teaching about the harms of marijuana use among the youth and about substance abuse, as provided in the 2020 Health Standards of Learning. The Department shall (i) review resources currently provided to teachers to determine if additional or updated material or lesson ideas are needed and (ii) provide or develop any additional materials and resources deemed necessary and make the same available to teachers by January 1, 2024. The provisions of this enactment shall become effective in due course. 19. That the Secretary of Education, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Education, shall develop a plan for introducing teachers, particularly those teaching health, to the information and resources available to them to assist them in teaching the 2020 Health Standards of Learning as it relates to marijuana use. Such plan shall include providing professional development webinars as soon as practicable, as well as ongoing periodic professional development relating to marijuana, as well as alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs as appropriate. The plan shall include the estimated cost of implementation and any potential source of funds to cover such cost and shall be submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 1, 2021. The provisions of this enactment shall become effective in due course.   

VDOE needs assistance to develop and implement at marijuana education campaign which focuses on prevention.  The department must submit a comprehensive, evidence-based plan for marijuana education prevention targeting youth - PreK to 12.  The plan must be developed and presented to the General Assembly for approval and funding on November 1, 2021

Approach to Capacity Building Services

Human and Organization Capacities will be developed by providing VDOE staff members with enhanced access and facilitated peer-to-peer conversations with other states and programs with proven success and evidence-based materials. Other state perspectives will also become valuable through the sharing of lessons learned.  Structural capacity is developed through interactions with another VDOE initiative and the use of a VA-specific Framework designed to identify high-quality instructional materials. The Framework is adaptable for multiple content areas and in this case will be used for the integration of the Substance Abuse Prevention: Healthy Habits for Youth with the Virginia Health Standards of Learning and the Virginia Portrait of a Graduate.  Material capacity will be evident in the professional learning materials and learning opportunities for stakeholders, parents, educators, staff and students.  This will be a "systems approach" to implementation and sustainability, not an "add on."