DOT Upcoming/Current Class

Drury Hotel, Columbus, Ohio (614-854-0216)
$1,000 Registration for Ohio Applicants
$1,500 Registration for Out of State Applicants

*Fee covers instruction and materials for the two-week D.A.R.E. Officer Training (DOT), lunch each day except for the second Thursday (bring cash to eat at the elementary school), dinner on the second Thursday of training (the DOT Banquet for students only) and the graduation ceremony.

What is NOT covered:
Overnight rooming: reservations should be made with and paid to Drury Hotel by the law enforcement agency. The rate is $122 per night plus tax and includes breakfast. Dinner for the remaining eight evenings is on your own.

D.A.R.E. OFFICER TRAINING (DOT) INFORMATION:

The prospective D.A.R.E. Officer must successfully complete the 80-hour training to be eligible to teach the D.A.R.E. Program.  The DOT Training will include the following:

• DARE K-4
• Elementary Core
• Middle School
• High School
• RX/OTC, Community and other D.A.R.E. America Enhancement Lessons

To be eligible, a police officer must be a sworn full-time officer with two years uniformed street experience in their current department OR a sworn full-time officer with a total of two years uniformed street experience, who has successfully completed the current departments imposed probationary period. The officer must have no sustained disciplinary actions within the past three years or be involved in a current departmental investigation.  Part-time officers may be eligible with an approved waiver from the DARE Training Advisory Board.

The registration fee is $1,000 for Ohio applicants and $1,500 for out of state applicants. Overnight room accommodations are the responsibility of the law enforcement agency (reservation and cost). Please contact the Drury Hotel directly and mention the DARE Officer Training session dates and special rate of $122 per night plus tax. Tax exempt paperwork, if you are exempt, needs to be provided to the hotel three days prior to check in. Lunch is provided for the duration of the 80-hour training (with the exception of the second Thursday at the school). Students will need dinner per diems for eight of the nine dinner meals.

The  success of the D.A.R.E. program is due to each individual D.A.R.E. Officer. The following list delineates specific areas which should be considered when selecting a D.A.R.E. candidate:

• Demonstrated ability to interact with and relate to
• Oral and written communication skills that are adaptable to age-specific
• Ability to
• Responsiveness to
• Ability to develop interpersonal
• Promptness; good time management
• Exemplary role model in both formal and informal
• Refrains from sexual, racial, stereotypical, inappropriate and insensitive
• Flexible and able to handle the
• Committed to careful replication of the D.A.R.E.

There are seven application requirements:

1.) “D.A.R.E. Officer Training Application including D.A.R.E Officer Requirement Checklist”
A D.A.R.E. Officer candidate must be a full-time, uniformed law enforcement officer with at least two years of experience, meeting the minimum training standard for peace officer status in their state of residence. The three-page application must be completed and signed by both the candidate and agency head.

2.) “D.A.R.E. Officer Information Questionnaire”

3.) “Local Interview Report” with signatures (for Ohio Applicants)
Ohio D.A.R.E. Officer candidates are required to participate in an oral screening process which involves an interview with a local screening team. Each agency requesting training is required to form a screening team composed of 4-6 persons including a police administrator, an educator, a school administrator, a parent, and a certified D.A.R.E. officer (if available). Any member may  serve under more than one category. Communities are encouraged to select screening team members who have experience with the D.A.R.E. program. The signatures of all screening team members must be included on the report. A listing of commonly asked D.A.R.E. interview questions is available upon request.

4.) “School District & Law Enforcement Agency Participation Agreement”
The D.A.R.E. Officer candidate’s police agency is required to complete a participation agreement with each participating school district in which the officer will teach D.A.R.E. Both the law enforcement agency head and the school superintendent must sign the agreement.

5.) “Letter of Endorsement”
Personal support letter written by the candidate’s Chief or Sheriff.

6.) OPOTC (or other state) certificate
Copy of the candidate’s Ohio Peace Officer Training (or other state) certificate.

7.) D.A.R.E America IntraState Agreement (if out of state)
All sections of the application must be received in order to consider the application complete. For acceptance into the next DOT class, complete applications are logged according to date received.

Upon acceptance into the D.A.R.E. Officer Training program (DOT), the Chief/Sheriff and the prospective D.A.R.E. Officer will be notified by email of the date, time, place, etc. of training. Attendance at all training classroom sessions and additional evening study time is required. The officer will spend the entire two weeks at the training facility (except for the weekend in between) as the training is quite intense and evening hours are required by all students.

The prospective D.A.R.E. Officer must successfully complete the 80-hour training (plus additional evening study time) to be eligible to teach the D.A.R.E. program. Please be careful of public announcements until after the Officer has graduated from the training.