Because the goal of prevention requires an attitudinal change in children, the developers of D.A.R.E. replaced the traditional approach of emphasizing substance abuse identification and the dangers of abuse with a curriculum that addresses values, decisions, self-concept improvement, respect for the law, and most important, peer resistance training. D.A.R.E. is taught by specially selected and thoroughly trained police officers. Each officer may be assigned to as many as five schools per semester, one for each day of the week. D.A.R.E. instructors teach 17 consecutive sessions over the course of a semester to the school's exit grade. The 45-minute lessons are presented weekly.
Officers usually teach no more than four class units per day.
They spend the balance of their time at the school developing rapport with the students by participating in routine activities such as lunch in the cafeteria, recess and playground, and assemblies. Officers may also hold drug awareness training sessions for parent groups, civic organizations, and faculty members to familiarize them with D.A.R.E. . Visitation lessons are also available for presentation to kindergarten through fourth grade levels. A follow-up curriculum for junior high level has been developed as well. The teacher usually remains in the classroom during the D.A.R.E. lesson and may offer feedback on the officer's activities or may actually, if the teacher wishes, participate in D.A.R.E. presentations.