Coalition presents 2017–2023 youth substance-use survey; board hears prevention priorities

Linda Fasina, coalition coordinator for the local WAI (Hastings Youth Drug and Alcohol Reduction Prevention) Coalition, presented the district's latest youth needs assessment, summarizing results from surveys administered in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023 to eighth-, tenth- and twelfth-graders.

Fasina told the board the survey instrument and validity checks have been consistent across years, and that participation is high — “We’re above 85% in all grades, 90% total,” she said — lending confidence to comparisons across cohorts. The survey is a requirement of the Drug‑Free Communities (DFC) grant the coalition received in 2018; Fasina noted DFC grants are limited to 10 years.

The presentation showed alcohol remained the most commonly used substance, followed by marijuana and e‑cigarettes. Fasina highlighted that reductions seen after 2019 largely held after COVID: “It’s very possible they could have popped right back after COVID to what we were seeing in 2019, and I’m really, really happy to see that those reductions stayed,” she said. She called out a particularly encouraging fall in binge drinking (defined in the survey as five or more drinks in a row) between 2021 and 2023, especially among twelfth graders.

At the same time, Fasina identified areas of concern. The slides showed a nontrivial share of students who drank in the past year reported getting alcohol at home with parental permission; Fasina called that finding “concerning” and recommended follow‑up focus groups to understand the context. She also flagged a modest rise in reported prescription‑drug misuse among seniors (about 4% in 2023) and small but nonzero reports of marijuana and e‑cigarette use at or near school during the day.

Board members and students pressed on interpretation and methods. The superintendent cautioned against overreading a slide about where students vape because the location question was a past‑year item with only 44 students answering that specific item; Fasina and the superintendent explained that slide lists places respondents checked and that the overall 30‑day vaping prevalence is the more appropriate metric for use estimates (the presentation showed e‑cigarette 30‑day use at roughly 10% of surveyed students).

Students and coalition leaders described prevention work already under way: a SADD club that acts as the youth arm of the coalition, a pilot “tips by text” program that enrolled about 100 parents, Narcan trainings, medication take‑back days in partnership with local police and pharmacies, and planned social‑norms campaigns to highlight that most students do not use substances. Fasina said the coalition can refer parents to clinical screening resources (she cited the Partnership to End Addiction as an example) but is not itself a clinical provider.

Fasina closed by urging continued curriculum review and targeted outreach: “We want to continue to increase students’ perception of the risk of harm,” she said, and recommended focused qualitative work — including focus groups — to understand parental‑permission drinking and the attitudes behind twelfth‑grade marijuana use.

The board agreed to continue surveying on a two‑year cycle at the same time of year (fall, the presenter recommended) and asked the coalition to follow up with more detailed breakdowns and suggested focus groups.