EVERFI from Blackbaud’s Prescription Drug Safety Course Certified as Meeting Rigorous ESSA Evidence Standards

EVERFI® from Blackbaud®, the leader in powering social impact through education, today announced that its program, Prescription Drug Safety: Know the truth, has been certified as meeting the evidence-based standards outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), aligning with Level III certification for “Promising Evidence.” This certification demonstrates that usage of the course correlates with students’ personal responsibility, perceived social norms, knowledge of safe prescription drug use, and potential future actions.

The ESSA certification was awarded through LearnPlatform by Instructure, following an extensive review of the research study, “Promoting Prescription Drug Safety Skills in School: Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Technology-Based Curriculum.” The research study, conducted by Lynch Research Associates, found that compared to a control group of students, students who took EVERFI’s prescription drug safety course saw:  

• Significant growth in personal responsibility for helping to prevent prescription drug abuse or misuse with others in their community  
• More accurate perceptions of social norms for prescription drug abuse, misuse, or refusal among peers  
• Increased knowledge of prescription drug-related topics including addiction, safe use of prescriptions, and refusal skills  
• Lower likelihood of engaging in future actions related to prescription drug abuse or misuse  
• Improved refusal skills for rejecting offers of prescription drugs in situations

Prescription drug misuse among youth aged 12-18 remains high in the United States with The National Institute on Drug Abuse indicating that approximately 2,000 teens abuse prescription drugs every single day and upwards of 3 million youth aged 12-17 admitted to abusing prescription drugs at least once in their lifetime. Public health experts and medical providers have been increasingly calling for effective, evidence-based prescription drug misuse prevention and intervention programming that reaches large numbers of youth who may be exposed to opportunities to engage in non-medical prescription drug use.

“The statistics around prescription drug misuse and abuse are startling and we cannot deny that as a country, we have reached a point of crisis and urgent action is needed,” said Alice Lee, senior vice president, K-12 implementation, EVERFI from Blackbaud. “One of the clearest ways to reach the student population with potentially lifesaving information is through our K-12 school system. We work closely with leading experts to design and develop our courses and with school districts to bring them to students nationwide. Certifications like this are important to validate the program and allow us to bring this education to more students.”

Schools and school districts are increasingly encouraged to use programs and tools that have been proven, through rigorously designed research studies, to positively impact student outcomes. The ESSA Levels of Evidence provide an easy-to-interpret framework for identifying what programs work. With LearnPlatform, EVERFI has a respected third-party evidence partner that solidifies the company’s commitment to demonstrating the impact of its programs for students. EVERFI is committed to continuing to strengthen its library of evidence and bring high-quality evidence-based programs to educators in every classroom.

Prescription Drug Safety: Know the truth is a free digital course that guides teachers and educates youth about the dangers associated with misusing prescription medications. Through real-world scenarios, students can recognize the impact prescription drug misuse can have on their physical and mental health, relationships, and future. They also learn how to support others in situations involving prescription drug misuse and overdose.

Since its launch in 2017, nearly 1.3 million students have actively engaged with the curriculum, and more than 7,000 schools have used the course.

For more information or to sign up for the Prescription Drug Safety: Know the truth course, visit https://everfi.com/courses/k-12/prescription-drug-safety-high-school/.