Prevention Programs in Ohio Schools: What’s Working Now in K–12

The state’s K–12 prevention push combines evidence-based curricula, family engagement campaigns, social-emotional learning (SEL), and safety laws that require annual training (Ohio Department of Education & Workforce).

Prevention isn’t “one program”; it’s an ecosystem coordinated by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW) and Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS), giving districts vetted options and implementation support that align with academic standards.

Start Talking!: Ohio’s Flagship Family–School Campaign

Start Talking! is a statewide initiative that equips parents, guardians, educators, and community leaders to have ongoing, age-appropriate conversations with youth about living drug-free lives—a simple action linked to lower substance use.

Schools can access turnkey lesson plans, printable materials, and educator toolkits on the Start Talking! For Schools hub, making it easy to reinforce prevention themes across grade levels and events.

Ohio also offers the HOPE (Health and Opioid Abuse Prevention Education) Curriculum to meet House Bill 367 requirements, integrating opioid misuse education from elementary through high school. Teacher guides and ready-to-teach modules are available free.

Botvin LifeSkills Training (LST): Evidence in the Classroom

Many Ohio districts pair Start Talking! with Botvin LifeSkills Training, a research-backed curriculum that builds personal and social skills shown to reduce tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use as well as aggression.

The evidence base is strong: multi-site studies find LST effective under real-world conditions when delivered by regular classroom teachers, with outcomes tracked using intention-to-treat methods.

Fidelity matters. Research shows that teacher training boosts adherence and dosage, strengthens delivery quality, and improves student outcomes—key for scaling LST successfully.

You can see LST adoption in action: Edison High School announced implementation for ninth graders to reduce high-risk behaviors, reflecting the momentum behind evidence-based prevention.

State partners are also investing in workforce capacity. OhioMHAS reported multiple LST trainings for prevention staff statewide, expanding the number of trained facilitators available to districts.

Aligning with SEL and Health Standards

To fit prevention into the school day, Ohio connects programs to K–12 Social and Emotional Learning Standards, which span self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making—exactly the competencies LST and Start Talking! build.

These standards include grade-banded skills (K–3 through high school) and emphasize trusted-adult help-seeking—one of the most important protective factors schools can teach.

Safety, Suicide Prevention, and HB 123 Requirements

Under Ohio law, schools must provide evidence-based suicide prevention and violence prevention instruction that complements other prevention programs.

HB 123 (SAVE Students Act) also requires threat-assessment teams in grades 6–12, adding a proactive, multidisciplinary process to identify and support students before issues escalate.

Districts can access free threat-assessment team training aligned with CSTAG protocols, making compliance with HB 123 straightforward.

Implementation Help for Districts

The Ohio Prevention Education Resource Center helps prevention professionals align efforts with learning standards and district goals—useful when choosing between LST, HOPE, and Start Talking! components.

Family engagement is also built in. The Statewide Family Engagement Center at Ohio State curates Start Talking! resources for take-home use, newsletters, and caregiver nights—so prevention messages extend beyond school walls.

ODEW’s Opioid Abuse Prevention page centralizes classroom resources, including Start Talking! and Take Charge Ohio, to support health teachers and counselors.

The Bottom Line for Ohio K–12

When districts blend Start Talking!, HOPE, and LifeSkills Training—anchored to SEL standards and HB 123 training—students get consistent prevention messages at school and at home, delivered by trained staff with clear protocols. That’s how Ohio is building prevention with staying power.

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