A new vaping policy has been implemented within the Blue Valley District causing the consequence for possession or distribution of vapes or vape related products to be equal to that of marijuana or alcohol. This consequence is a five day out of school suspension (OSS) that can be reduced to three days if the student seeks a professional assessment and provides evidence of having done so.

Anyone who is caught possessing or distributing vapes or vape related products will also be required to take part in a new medically based program called Aspire. Associate Principal, Tyler Alexander, said that it will be the educational component to the new policy in which students will learn more about the concerns revolving around vaping.

Executive High School director at Blue Valley District Office, David Stubblefield, along with some of the principals of the Blue Valley school’s met to discuss the creation of what is now the new policy, Stubblefield said. Realizing that the increase of vaping related activity within school was increasing exponentially, Stubblefield said they decided action needed to be taken in an aggressive manner to create new guidelines in regards to this rapid and continuous increase.

The usage of vapes and vape related products was not the only thing concerning to those at District Office, Stubblefield said. The distribution of vapes, THC juice, and pods, as well as the violence that surrounded the sale and usage of vapes also was unsettling to Stubblefield and his team.

In an attempt to not only convey the consequential aspect of the new policy, Stubblefield said they want to educate Blue Valley students, parents, and staff on vaping and its effects.

“It’s about awareness and the danger. It’s about the addiction that it can cause, the effects on the brain, all of that is information that we believe needs to be given to our community,” Stubblefield said.

Similar to that of Stubblefield, Alexander said that the new policy is not made as an excuse to simply catch students doing something they are not supposed to be but rather protect students from the harmful effects that come with vaping.

“I think all of us here and the other administrators in the district do have a genuine concern about the health side effects, the addicted side effects and long term and what that can do for our students,” Alexander said.

The district has partnered with MD Anderson Cancer Institute to provide more information regarding vaping to students and the community itself. Additional information will be distributed at Vaping in the Valley, a community conversation held from 6:30 p.m to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 2nd at the Hilltop Conference Center. Blue Valley Southwest teacher and physician, Dr. Chris Jensen, will be leading the event.