In Case You Missed It: Changes to BHS Vaping Policy

As students, we receive the occasional email from Mr. Jozokos regarding school policy or upcoming events. Our parents, on the other hand, receive emails every Friday afternoon summarizing the events of the past week, along with other important information and dates. Found in this email from the previous Friday, December 6th, is this dramatic change to the way vaping on school grounds is dealt with. This information below is pulled directly from Mr. Jozokos’s email:

The discipline consequences for vaping and/or having vape paraphernalia at school have changed. The major ideas behind the changes are keeping students in school (no suspension from school) and more education and restorative practices.  When a student is found vaping or in possession of vape paraphernalia, the following procedures are now in place:

• the student is sent home with a parent that day
• there is a re-entry meeting with a parent the next day to establish timelines for the things below
• the student and parents must attend one of the monthly BreathNH presentations here at BHS (we partnered with that organization)
• the student must meet with Mrs. Bennett three times (our Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor)
• the student must complete 10 hours of community service
• the student must complete a reflection and meet with their assistant principal to review the reflection
• we also recommend a visit to the student’s pediatrician to discuss the possibility of addiction (due to the high level of nicotine in vape juice; Juul pods, for example, have the equivalent of 20 cigarettes worth of nicotine)

To summarize, the district has done away with the simple 5-10 day OSS that was fairly standard in cases of vaping. Now, our administration has implemented a rigorous program designed to keep students in school while completing various other tasks to ensure that the student has learned their lesson. This approach to vaping is seemingly much more rehabilitation-focused, and should result in a major change in how students caught with vaping products are treated.