D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) may be leaving New Jersey schools, but that doesn’t mean children will stop being educated on drug abuse prevention.

D.A.R.E. began leaving schools across the country in 2012. In most states, it was replaced with a new program called “Keepin’ it REAL,” which follows a similar curriculum. However, the Keepin’ it Real program was untested and therefore not recognized by New Jersey.

In order to keep educating students on the dangers of drugs, New Jersey implemented L.E.A.D. (Law Enforcement Against Drugs). This program also uses a similar curriculum to D.A.R.E., which includes 10 weeks of evidence-based education and testing. L.E.A.D. also teaches students about anti-violence and drugs in the real world, outside of the classroom, which is necessary for many towns severely affected by drug use in New Jersey.

L.E.A.D. does not want to erase all the work D.A.R.E. has done, only build upon it.