Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
The Hillsborough Township Board of Education recently introduced a trio of drug policy changes that would not only take aim at vaping on school grounds, but also address some drug and alcohol concerns as well.
Superintendent Dr. Jorden Schiff said the proposed policies were needed in order to dissuade drug and alcohol use by students, and a way to keep up with modern drug use trends.
“We’ve been working very hard on developing new policies and procedures in particular for vaping,” he said. “As we continue our work educating our teachers, parents and teachers, we feel that this will have a positive effect on reducing vaping in our schools.”
According to the first of the proposed policies, the district could soon reclassify vaping devices as pieces of drug paraphernalia since they “can be used to deliver illicit drugs,” Schiff said. Under the district’s current regulations, all vaping and e-cigarette devices are considered tobacco products.
If passed, the new policy would place vaping devices in the same category as pipes, rolling paper and hypodermic needles.
Board member Judith Haas said the district is also looking to work with the Hillsborough Township Police Department to help crack down on vaping devices on school property.
“According to the police department, vaping is included in the township’s smoking in public ordinance, so they can issue summonses without further legislation,” she said.
A second policy proposed on Monday establishes guidelines for how school employees can administer “opioid antagonists” like naloxone, which is commonly referred to as “narcan.”
Under the policy, school nurses are permitted to use naloxone to any “student, school personnel or other person believed to be experiencing an opioid overdose during school hours or during on-site school-sponsored activities.”
Once a school principal or supervising staff member learns of a potential overdose taking place on the premises, the policy requires that they immediate call 911. In the event that the nurse isn’t already handling the situation, the principal is also required to contact the nurse immediately.
The parent of any student or a family member for school staff member will be contacted “as soon as practicable.” The superintendent will also be notified.
Under the state’s “Overdose Prevention Act,” neither the district, nor the nurse, nor the administration will be liable to any litigation as a result of administering naloxone.
The third proposed policy will allow the district to use handheld breathalyzers to determine whether students are under the influence of alcohol before, during and after school functions, such as athletic events, dances and class trips.
Though the devices will allow staff members to see a student’s blood alcohol content level, the policy states that it does not “replace reasonable suspicion testing, random testing” or other methods. If a breathalyzer test comes back positive, the student in question will be subjected to a second test. If found positive after the second test, they will be reported to the building principal and will be dealt with in accordance with existing substance abuse rules.
Much of the discussion during the more than three-hour meeting on Monday between the school board and the parents and community members in attendance dealt with drug use among the district’s student body.
“[These changes] will send a clear message that this will not be tolerated in our schools,” Haas said.
Though the proposed policy changes came after weeks of criticism and push back from parents and community members who questioned whether the district was doing enough to combat drug use among the student body, Schiff said additional changes will be coming in the near future to take a harder stance on substance abuse.
Some of the changes include altering the district’s code of conduct to change the punishment for possession of a vaping device from a Saturday detention to an in-school suspension. He also said the district is looking into teaming up with law enforcement to issue tickets for students who bring a vaping device to school, with tickets ranging from $250 for the first offense to $1,000 for third offense.
“What we have found, is when we used to do this years ago for cigarette smoking on campus, we saw a significant decline in those behaviors after we issued summons,” Schiff said. “We hope and we anticipate that that’s what we’re going to see again as well.”
