Lancaster County Schools district wants e-cigarette detectors to curb students’ vaping
A local school district is taking drastic steps to keep kids from vaping in school.
A spokesperson with the Lancaster County School District says leaders are catching kids smoking e-cigarettes inside schools about 10 to 12 times every week. So the district plans to invest thousands of dollars in new technology and cameras to catch students vaping in the act.
Tunisia Milner has been a substitute teacher in several districts, and she’s seen first-hand just how popular vaping has become.
“Now it’s turned into a fad where it’s cool,” Milner said. “I had two students who were vaping in the classroom -- trying to do it, sneaking to do it -- but of course, I saw the smoke.”
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Officials in Lancaster County say it’s happening inside high school bathrooms so often that even parents are complaining, and they say some kids are even using the devices to smoke illegal drugs like marijuana.
“We had a case in the last week where we caught four individuals in a stall, and they were all smoking a vape,” said Bryan Vaughn with the Lancaster County School District.
LCSD is now turning to a company called Zeptive for help. They make vaping detectors that leaders will place in high school classrooms. The detectors cost about $1,100 each, and they can be set up wirelessly in minutes, according to Zeptive.
Cameras are also being installed outside of restrooms to help leaders find who’s vaping.
“We’re going to be able to cross-reference and find out who’s in that building for investigative purposes,” Vaughn said.
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For some parents, the detectors are helping put their minds at ease.
“It’s comforting for parents to know they can do something about it when they’re not in their own house,” said Gina Drummer.
Though others like Milner say the cameras may be an intrusion. Milner says more education may be the better solution.
“I think if they are educated about what vaping does to their body, then they would reconsider for sure,” Milner said.
District leaders told Channel 9 they’ll also look into creating tougher penalties for students caught vaping.
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