Illicit drug and alcohol use in Carroll ISD has gone down by 13.1% since 2017, according to the district’s 2019-2020 drug and alcohol use survey.
Since 2005, the school district has partnered with the Texas Department of State Health Services and Texas A&M University’s Public Policy Research Initiative to conduct voluntary surveys on drug and alcohol use among middle and high school students in Carroll ISD. Five surveys have been conducted between 2005 and 2020, with the most recent survey collecting 1,131 responses from Dawson Middle School, Carroll High and Senior High School.
According to the survey, the results reveal a decrease in drug and alcohol use in four out of five categories between 2017 and 2020. Tobacco use has dropped from 19.9% to 18.3%, alcohol use has dropped from 45.8% to 38.8%, drug use has dropped from 15% to 7.1% and inhalant use has dropped from 7.7% to 5.8%. The only category that saw an increase was marijuana use, which grew from 13.5% in 2017 to 18.8% in 2020, according to the results.
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Janet McDade says that the administration will work with School Resource Officers on education initiatives to spread awareness on marijuana use.
“We’re going to be looking at a curriculum that our SROs want to be used in our schools,” Janet says. “They’ve been a great resource at supplying our students with appropriate facts and information and helping us fight that battle.”
To review the 2020 drug and alcohol survey results, visit SouthlakeCarroll.edu.