View source for Office of Safe and Healthy Students

The '''Office of Safe and Healthy Students''' ('''OSHS''') (formerly '''Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools''' ('''OSDFS''') is a subdivision within the [[United States Department of Education]] that is responsible for assisting drug and violence prevention activities within the nation's schools.

The office was established by the Department of Education in 2002, pursuant to the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act part of the [[No Child Left Behind Act|No Child Left Behind Act of 2001]].<ref>{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of Education |date=September 17, 2002 |title=Paige announces formation of two new offices |publisher=[[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] |url=http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/09/09172002.html}}</ref>

==Responsibilities==
{{Education in the U.S.}}
The Office of Safe and Healthy Students administers, coordinates, and recommends policy for improving the quality of programs and activities designed to:
*Provide financial assistance for drug and violence prevention activities and activities that promote the health and well-being of students in elementary and secondary schools, and institutions of higher education. These activities may be carried out by State and local educational agencies and by other public and private nonprofit organizations.
*Participate in the formulation and development of [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]] program policy and legislative proposals, and in overall Administration policies related to violence and drug prevention.
*Participate in interagency committees, groups, and partnerships related to drug and violence prevention, coordinating with other federal agencies on issues related to comprehensive school health, and advising the [[Secretary of Education]] on the formulation of comprehensive school health education policy.
*Participate with other federal agencies in the development of a national research agenda for drug and violence prevention.
*Administer the Department's programs relating to character and civics education.

==Organization==
The Office of Safe and Healthy Students was under the supervision of the [[Assistant Deputy Secretary of Education|Assistant Deputy Secretary]], who reports to the Secretary and the [[United States Deputy Secretary of Education|Deputy Secretary]] on policy and program administration matters. As of August 2011, OSDFS moved under the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Immediate Office of the Assistant Deputy Secretary provides overall direction, coordination, and leadership to the following major elements:
*Health, Mental Health, Environmental Health, and Physical Education
*Drug-Violence Prevention - State Programs (eliminated in 2010)
*Drug-Violence Prevention - National Programs
*Character and Civic Education
*Policy and Cross-Cutting Programs

==Directors==
[[Presidency of George W. Bush|Bush administration]] Secretary of Education [[Rod Paige]] appointed the first two directors [title is officially Assistant Deputy Secretary] of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools, Eric G. Andell (2002–2003)<ref>{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of Education |date=September 17, 2002 |title=Eric G. Andell to lead new Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools |publisher=[[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] |url=http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2002/09/09172002a.html }}<br />{{cite news |author=Hedges, Michael |date=July 30, 2005 |title=Ex-judge Andell gets probation, $5,000 fine; He admits to charging expenses to U.S. government |newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]] |page=B3 |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2005_3890979 |access-date=2009-10-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121015213738/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2005_3890979 |archive-date=2012-10-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Deborah A. Price (2004–2009).<ref>{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of Education |date=February 2, 2004 |title=Deborah A. Price named to head Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools |publisher=[[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] |url=http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2004/02/02022004a.html}}<br />{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of Education |date=March 11, 2005 |title=Deborah A. Price biography |publisher=[[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] |url=http://www.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/price.html}}</ref>

[[Presidency of Barack Obama|Obama administration]] [[United States Secretary of Education|Secretary of Education]] [[Arne Duncan]] appointed Assistant Deputy Secretary [[Kevin Jennings]] in May 2009.<ref name="ed-ann">{{cite web |author=U.S. Department of Education |date=May 19, 2009 |title=Education Secretary announces nine senior staff appointments |publisher=[[United States Department of Education|U.S. Department of Education]] |url=http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/05/05192009d.html }}<br />{{cite web |author=CETAC |date=May 27, 2009 |title=U.S. Department of Education announces nine senior staff appointments including Kevin Jennings for OSDFS |publisher=Character Education and Civic Engagement Technical Assistance Center |url=http://www.cetac.org/news/newsDetailBox.cfm?id=200 }}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==SDFSC Advisory Committee==
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Advisory Committee, authorized by the [[No Child Left Behind Act]], was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Education [[Margaret Spellings]]. The Committee was established to provide advice to the Secretary on Federal, state, and local programs designated to create safe and drug-free schools, and on issues related to crisis planning. As outlined in section 4123(a), the Committee will consult with, and provide advice to, the Secretary for the programs listed in section 4123(b) that are already carried out by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osdfs/index.html Official Website]
*[http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c107:4:./temp/~c107UvPScY:e895950: No Child Left Behind Act, section 4123, at Thomas.LOC.gov]{{Dead link|date=August 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{ED agencies}}

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[[Category:United States Department of Education agencies]]
[[Category:Government agencies established in 2002]]
[[Category:2002 establishments in the United States]]