R-I discusses governor concerns on youth vaping

The Poplar Bluff R-I School board discussed action taken by Gov. Mike Parson at its monthly board meeting Thursday night related to the rising use of vaping products in teens.

Parson signed an executive order, which directs the Departments of Health and Senior Services, Elementary and Secondary Education and Public Safety to develop a statewide campaign to educate, warn and deter the use of the products by Missouri youth.

Dr. Scott Dill, R-I superintendent, said the district is being “very aggressive” about this issue at the high school, junior high school and middle school. Additional actions are being considered on the topic.

Dill said administration is looking into detectors that could be installed in bathrooms to identify the use of vape products.

“We can’t put cameras in the restrooms for obvious reasons, but you can have them pointed at restroom doors,” he said. “Your cameras are time synced with these devices. You know who’s in the restroom or coming out of the restroom. It narrows down who you’re talking to.”

These devices are not “inexpensive solutions,” he said, but board members spoke in agreement of looking into them and exploring whether installing them would be beneficial in the long run.

Dill also brought up conversations about changing the student handbooks for next year to make vaping a specific code since it currently falls under tobacco use. By potentially making this change, the district would be able to have more information about how much of an issue vaping is for it.

“I think it’s wishful thinking to believe tobacco is what we’re dealing with in most cases,” he said.

He said they’ll also discuss creating a specific code for “unknown liquid inhalant.” Sometimes the school doesn’t know what the substance is, which he called “really dangerous.”

Dill said while it is being looked at as a disciplinary issue, it’s also being looked at as a health issue.

“This is a huge problem,” Dill said. “It’s taking away from some of my students to participate in their education for disciplinary reasons, health reasons. We are going to work with the community and with the board to address this as a concern.”

Both Dill and the board agreed that vaping is a difficult issue to address.

“It’s really a difficult issue,” board president John Scott said. “It’s the No. 1 concern I get from parents. Maybe not daily, but weekly I hear from a couple parents about the vaping thing.”

Sheryl Talkington, health and drug free coordinator with the district, said she’s been working with community organizations on educating teachers on the topic and what to look for.

“Part of the problem with this is that is looks just like a scan drive,” she said. “You can’t tell the difference. Hopefully, educating our staff will help at least make us more aware of what it looks like and what it can look like.”