Drug Abuse Resistance Education, or D.A.R.E., is a drug abuse prevention education program designed to equip elementary school children with knowledge about drug abuse, the consequences of drug abuse and skills for resisting peer pressure to experiment with drugs, alcohol and tobacco.

D.A.R.E. uses uniformed law enforcement officers to teach a formal curriculum to students in a classroom setting. The Santa Clara Police Department began teaching the program in 1995. Today, Santa Clara’s D.A.R.E. program is taught at 17 public and private schools. The Elementary D.A.R.E. program targets every 5th grader and prepares them for entering junior high school, where pressures to use drugs and alcohol will most likely occur.