FOUNDATIONS OF THE STANDARD

The Standard is built on three layers: organizing frameworks that structure the work, guiding principles that shape how it’s done, and a foundation of evidence that explains why it matters.

Together, they connect what schools do every day to what research shows makes a difference.

Organizing Frameworks

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

Developmentally Appropriate Practice

What students need changes as they grow. The Standard is tailored across three stages — early/middle childhood, early/middle adolescence, and late adolescence — so that prevention, education, and intervention meet students where they are.

Multi-tiered system of supports

Multi-tiered system of supports

Not every student needs the same level of support. The Standard works across three tiers: universal prevention for all, targeted supports for students at elevated risk, and intensive, individualized supports for students who are using substances and/or experiencing substance-related harms.

Health-promoting schools

Health-promoting schools

The Standard addresses the whole school system — environments and relationships, teaching and learning, partnerships and services, and policy.

Guiding Principles

Many students affected by substance use have experienced trauma. The Standard integrates knowledge about trauma into school practices and policies, prioritizing safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment — and actively seeking to prevent re-traumatization.

Substance use occurs along a spectrum, from abstinence through to substance use disorder. The Standard prioritizes safety and well-being at every point, supporting informed decision-making and reducing risks and harms rather than relying exclusively on messaging that discourages all use.

Systemic inequities, colonization, and racism shape substance use outcomes. The Standard calls on schools to examine how their environments, policies, and practices may reproduce or mitigate these inequities, and to take deliberate steps toward more just and inclusive systems.

The Standard honours diverse identities, knowledge systems, and community contexts. Culturally responsive approaches build respectful relationships, ensure supports are relevant and accessible, and recognize culture itself as a protective factor — particularly for Indigenous youth.

Young people are active contributors to the design, delivery, and evaluation of substance use prevention, education, and intervention. Meaningful inclusion of student voice ensures that school-based efforts reflect lived experiences and priorities, and holds systems accountable to the students they serve.

Domains of Evidence

Belonging-based practices & upstream prevention

Youth & families/caregiver engagement

Strengths-based policies & practices

Evidence-informed education & messaging

Screening & relationship-based monitoring

School-community partnerships