Posted: | December 7, 2012 01:16 PM |
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From: | Senator Kim L. Ward |
To: | All Senate members |
Subject: | Memo #18 – Recovery Schools |
I plan on introducing legislation that would allow an intermediate unit to create or authorize a recovery school specifically for middle-school and secondary-school students recently released from an intensive residential drug and alcohol treatment program. Statistics show that less than 20% of youth who have completed chemical dependency treatment maintain sobriety after returning to their home and school. They are dropped right back into the very peer environment that has influenced them to use drugs in the first place. Recovery schools provide an environment that supports the student’s new-found sobriety. The legislation I propose would allow an intermediate unit to create or authorize a separate entity, such as a school district or a charter school operator, to run a recovery school specifically for those middle school and high school age students who have completed their intensive residential treatment program. The recovery school would give these students the opportunity to share in the same recovery process, facilitate out-patient treatment and other services, and minimize negative influences from peer pressure. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please do not hesitate to contact my office at 717-787-6063. |
Introduced as SB421