GOVTS JOIN EFFORT TO STAMP OUT DRUGS IN SCHOOLS

Federal and state governments agreed on new rules yesterday to help stamp
out the use and sale of illegal drugs in schools.

The national framework for protocols for drugs in schools builds on the
$27million national school drug education strategy.

Prime Minister John Howard said governments had demonstrated through the
framework that they were determined to work together in partnerships with
schools, parents and local communities to address the issue of drugs in
schools.

"The framework sets out an agreed set of guiding principles for schools to
follow so that every school can have in place, a comprehensive set of
protocols for drug education and for handling incidents involving drugs in
schools," Mr Howard said.

"While recognising that individual schools have the discretion to enforce
their existing rules, the significance of the framework is that it will
assist schools in developing effective strategies in a nationally
consistent way and improve existing approaches by reference to the guiding
principles."

The guiding principles include:

* Possession, use or distribution of illicit or unsanctioned drugs is not
acceptable in schools and this message should be delivered in a clear and
consistent way.

* Schools need to have prevention and intervention policies and procedures
integrated with other school policies.

* Responses to drugs at school need to be applied fairly and consistently.

* Principals and staff need professional development in working with
students involved in drug-related incidents.

The framework is underpinned by two key elements.

* An emphasis on prevention through education, information and responsible
school environments.

* An emphasis on early intervention through appropriate procedures for
dealing with incidents involving the possession, use and/or distribution of
drugs within schools.