A significant number of North Texas students have had to be placed in disciplinary alternative education programs as a result of a new state law aimed at cracking down on minors vaping on school campuses.
HB 114 would send hundreds of students in the Dallas area to Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEP) this school year after the bill became law on September 1, 2023. The bill follows in the footsteps of an initiative known as VAPE=DAEP, which allows students who are caught with an e-cigarette device on campus, within 300 feet of school property, or at a school-sponsored event to There was a possibility of being placed in DAEP.
Approximately 45% of Duncanville ISD's 300 DAEP students were vaping. Mesquite ISD has the second-largest share, with 39.8% of DAEP's 517 students vaping as of Feb. 1, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Richardson ISD had 365 students enrolled in DAEP. Approximately 29.6% took his vaping, similar to Garland ISD, where DAEP has 563 students enrolled and 29% took his vaping.
Dallas ISD's DAEP had a total of 2,351 students and had a much lower rate of vaping (12.5%) than other nearby school districts. Still, the district has struggled academically for years. Only 41% of the district's students scored at grade level on the STAAR exam, and nearly 20% of the Class of 2022 earned a high school diploma over a four-year period when the statewide average was 90%.
In 2021, 11.2% of Texas high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, and 5.6% of middle school students reported using e-cigarettes in the past 30 days, according to a Texas Department of Health and Human Services report. did.
What other initiatives are you doing on campus?
Duncanville ISD
The district partners with Youth 180 to provide drug prevention and education to students. The district also works with the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority to educate parents, students and employees about drug prevention and mental health.
The Duncanville ISD website also features several parent resources regarding e-cigarettes and vaping.
Dallas ISD
Students in the district will attend a meeting or public hearing before moving to DAEP. At DAEP, for a first offense he requires a five-day substance abuse intervention program before returning to regular campus. Parents are also required to attend a half-day orientation, according to Dallas ISD.
For a second offense, a full placement with additional drug intervention support will be provided. Parents must attend a substance abuse information session.
Mesquite ISD
The district's website does not have an e-cigarette policy or information about HB 114. Still, e-cigarettes, vaping, and marijuana are listed as prohibited items in the student code of conduct. The district has a Fentanyl Facts tab that contains a variety of information about the deadly opioid.
Richardson ISD
The district developed a tobacco response and education intervention plan. Richardson ISD also offers Saturday drug prevention classes for families in partnership with Defensive Line. Richardson ISD has reimagined its Live Wise/Live Healthy program to engage more drug prevention efforts within the community.
As of January, the punishment for students caught with nicotine e-cigarettes while taking a nicotine-required course will be reduced from 30 days to 10 days, DMN said.
The effects of e-cigarette nicotine on adolescents include harm to the developing adolescent brain, particularly the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, and impulse control, changes in memory connections known as synapses, and the risk of using other drugs in the future. These include an increased risk of becoming addicted. , according to the CDC.
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