Committee advances stricter vaping and tobacco penalties in student-conduct policy, to seek legal review before final board vote

The policy committee advanced revisions Aug. 27 to policy JCDAA (student smoking, tobacco and marijuana use) that increase disciplinary consequences for vaping and make a number of procedural changes, but members agreed to send the draft to Forethought and the administration for legal review before the policy is finalized. Board member Joey Piazza opened the discussion, describing rising vaping incidents and advocating for stronger consequences and parental accountability. Revisions discussed include in-school consequences for first offenses, limits on extracurricular participation for a specified period, parental assessments for testing costs, and a clear path to automatic DRC review when a pen tests positive for an illegal drug. Committee members debated whether charging parents for test kits would inappropriately penalize families in which a student obtained a vape without parental knowledge; administrators said assessments can be issued to parents but noted the district cannot deny educational services for failing to pay the assessment. The committee voted to move the draft forward to Forethought and the administration for review. Members agreed that, if Forethought and administration do not provide recommendations by the upcoming full-board meeting (target Tuesday), the committee will pull the item and delay final approval until the next meeting.