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School Health Advisory Board urges balanced, evidence-based approach to student vaping
Summary
The School Health Advisory Board presented findings that youth vaping is prevalent in Lynchburg schools and recommended regulations, consistent discipline, prevention curriculum, and alternatives to suspension; student leaders urged support and prevention-focused responses.
The school district's School Health Advisory Board (SHAB) presented a multi-part report on youth vaping, combining local survey data, staff and student focus groups and evidence-based recommendations intended to reduce vaping and increase student support.
Janua Davis, program manager of prevention and wellness services at Horizon Behavioral Health and SHAB chair, laid out the problem: the 2024 Lynchburg Youth Survey shows high lifetime use among 12th graders and substantial retail access; staff and students told the advisory that vaping is visible, normalized and often occurs in bathrooms, locker rooms, hallways and buses.
"Vaping isn't just a nuisance or a health issue. It affects learning, focus, athletics, mental health, and the overall school environment," student leader Brianna Sparrow said.
SHAB recommendations emphasized three areas: policy and reporting (develop a regulations document to standardize responses and data tracking), education and awareness (expand evidence-based prevention curriculum and parent outreach), and support/intervention (use validated brief screening tools such as CRAFFT, create alternatives to suspension with educational and cessation referrals, and expand access to online/text cessation supports).
The advisory said a balanced approach is needed: students and staff supported maintaining accountability while pairing discipline with education and support. Trustees praised the student presenters and asked administration to pursue next steps; one board member proposed assigning committee work to create a vaping incident response/regulatory document but indicated formal committee establishment must wait until board reorganization in July.
Why it matters: SHAB tied vaping to academic outcomes and student well-being and urged system-level responses that include prevention, consistent discipline, and connections to community cessation resources. Student voices and local retail-compliance work were central to the presentation.
Next steps: SHAB recommended forming a collaborative work group to prioritize recommendations and assess feasibility; presenters indicated they will use local retail-compliance data in forthcoming outreach to city council.
