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Board reviews consolidated tobacco and vaping policy, asks how signage and sponsorship rules apply to off-campus athletic facilities
Summary
District staff presented an advisory that consolidates nicotine, vape and tobacco language into a single policy and regulation, and board members asked whether signage and advertising rules apply to jointly used softball/baseball complexes owned by the city.
Deming Public Schools staff reviewed an NMSBA advisory that consolidates nicotine, vaping and tobacco policies into a single regulation and said the consolidated language clarifies where prohibitions apply and where signage should be posted.
Why it matters: The consolidated advisory updates definitions for nicotine and vaping products and instructs districts to post notices where tobacco and nicotine use are prohibited at school-related activities and facilities.
A question from a board member focused on how the policy applies to athletic fields that the district uses but does not own. The board member asked whether prohibitions and required signage apply at the city-owned baseball/softball complex used by the district. Staff said the policy applies to school events and, because the district uses the complex for school activities, it should be posted and enforced in coordination with the city; staff noted that real-estate agreements with the city are forthcoming and may be discussed in executive session.
Board members also raised questions about sponsorships and advertising, including whether businesses that sell marijuana-related products could effectively be treated as promoters if they sponsor events. Staff advised that the advisory uses the word "promotion" but does not define it; the policy service attorney recommends consulting legal counsel if the district plans to interpret parent or spectator clothing or vendor presence as promotional advertising. "If you wish as a school district to include, people wearing those types of shirts as promotion, please consult, right, please consult your legal counsel," the policy service attorney is recorded as saying in the advisory notes included with the packet.
Staff said the advisory will include the signage requirement in a regulation and that the district should comply with administrative code language on posting notices and prohibitions at athletic facilities and buildings used for school events.
