School and county characteristics as predictors of school rates of drug, alcohol, and tobacco offenses

Despite evidence that school factors are associated with differences in various types of student behavior, little research has explored the predictive utility of school factors for school-level substance offense rates. Using data from the State of Florida Department of Education and the Census, we explore the associations between school climate and school substance offense rates, controlling for county level characteristics. Results from a multilevel analysis show that school culture, school organization, and social milieu predict variation in school substance incident rate. We interpret the findings as consistent with research utilizing the "school culture/school effectiveness" model.