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Committee standardizes tobacco and controlled‑substance language; adds vaping to paraphernalia definitions
Summary
The policy committee moved to standardize terminology across student and employee manuals, clarified that vaping products and paraphernalia (including devices) are covered, and discussed distinctions in consequences and reporting between nicotine/tobacco incidents and controlled substances.
Cheltenham’s policy committee on March 25 reviewed a package of updates aimed at standardizing language about tobacco, vaping and controlled substances across student and employee handbooks.
Committee presenters said the primary goal was consistency: some policies used "tobacco," others "tobacco and nicotine," and some used "electronic cigarettes." The committee adopted a direction to standardize terminology based on ESBA’s 2024 template language and to ensure vaping products are explicitly captured as vaping paraphernalia under the controlled‑substances policy so THC‑based vaping incidents are covered.
Administrators noted remedies differ between the tobacco policy (0223) and the controlled‑substances policy (0227): tobacco and nicotine incidents typically do not trigger law‑enforcement reporting while controlled‑substances incidents may have different consequences and reporting requirements. Committee members asked for explicit cross‑references and for the ARs to make clear how incidents involving medical or therapeutic cannabis for students with documented medical needs would be handled (typically via health plans and IEP/504 procedures).
