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Eighth‑graders ask Herrin CUSD 4 to shift vaping policy toward education and restoration
Summary
Three Herrin Junior High students presented survey data and recommended a restorative, education‑centered response to youth vaping, citing local retail access and health risks; the board said it would follow up but took no immediate policy vote.
Molly DuPont, an eighth‑grade member of EYPC, told the Herrin CUSD 4 Board of Education on April 28 that students want schools to emphasize education and restorative responses for vaping rather than only exclusionary discipline. "Tonight, myself and my fellow EYPC members are here to educate on vaping and its impacts on youth," she said.
The presentation by DuPont and two classmates summarized health risks and local patterns of youth access. DuPont described the devices and warned that nicotine can harm developing brains, affecting "memory, attention, and impulse control," and said e‑liquids can contain chemicals linked to lung damage.
Lydia Clough, another eighth‑grade EYPC member, presented the group's local findings: "There are 20 tobacco retailers and 65% of them are within half a mile of our school's parks," she said, and reported that about 40% of students said they had seen vaping at school. The team ran an optional survey that drew roughly 300 responses and found that about 75% of respondents believed education, resources and support would help students who are using tobacco products.
Hudson Howard, the third student presenter, urged clearer, accessible district policy and proposed a restorative tobacco response (RTR) model. "We recommend implementing restorative tobacco response, or RTR," he said, describing a three‑part approach of accountability, education and reentry so students remain in school while participating in health and reflection programming.
The students asked the board to clarify handbook language, make policies easier to find (direct links/digital versions) and to align discipline guidance with the supportive practices staff already use in some schools. They outlined a three‑step framework: education and reflection for first offenses, structured consequences and loss of privileges for second offenses, and progressive discipline for repeated violations.
Board members signaled interest and said they would follow up; the Chair invited questions after the presentations but no immediate policy change or formal vote was taken. The presentations join earlier community conversation about youth vaping and give the board local data and student‑driven recommendations to consider in future handbook revisions.
The board proceeded with other agenda items and did not take a formal vote on handbook language during this meeting.
