National D.A.R.E. Day, 2000

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Title 3--
The President

Proclamation 7291 of April 12, 2000

National D.A.R.E. Day, 2000

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

Children face many challenges in today's complex
society. Peer pressure to abuse drugs and alcohol;
negative influences in films, music, television, and
videos; school violence; gang activities; fear and low
self-esteem--any or all of these pressures can lead
young people to make unwise choices that can jeopardize
their future and even their lives. Since 1983, however,
there has been a strong positive influence in the lives
of America's children that is helping them to navigate
safely through these dangers and uncertainties: Drug
Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.).

D.A.R.E. was developed jointly by the Los Angeles
Police Department and the Los Angeles Unified School
District and continues to draw its strength from
partnerships among law enforcement officials, schools,
parents, and communities. Under the program, specially
trained police officers conduct classroom lessons
designed to teach children from kindergarten through
the 12th grade how to make healthy choices, overcome
negative influences, avoid destructive behavior, and
resist the lure of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

The D.A.R.E. curriculum has several components designed
to meet the changing needs of students as they mature.
From the visitation program for children in
kindergarten and the early elementary school years to
the core curriculum for highly vulnerable fifth and
sixth graders to reinforcement programs for middle
school, junior high, and senior high students, D.A.R.E.
helps young people of all ages develop the skills and
self-confidence to recognize and resist negative
influences. And this year, D.A.R.E. has pledged to use
a specialized curriculum to reach out to thousands of
parents and help them talk to their children about
drugs.

My Administration is also taking forceful measures to
help our young people make the decision to reject
drugs. We are continuing to expand the unprecedented
National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign in order to
change the attitudes of an entire generation of young
people; a campaign that is working across all race,
gender, grade level, and income lines. The campaign is
already paying dividends for American families: studies
show that growing numbers of parents are talking to
their children about the dangers of drug use, and youth
drug use is down 13 percent in just one year. We have
also expanded the Safe and Drug-Free Schools program
and the Drug-Free Communities program.

Through efforts like these and the commitment of
programs like D.A.R.E., we can ensure that America's
children have the skills, self-esteem, and guidance
they need to reject substance abuse and violence and to
create for themselves a bright and healthy future.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United
States, do hereby proclaim April 13, 2000, as National
D.A.R.E. Day. I call upon our youth, parents,
educators, and all the people of the United States to
observe this day with appropriate programs and
activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twelfth day of April, in the year of our Lord two
thousand, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and twenty-fourth.