DISTRICT TO PILOT BATHROOM VAPING SENSORS

Cameras outside can track who was inside at the time

The San Dieguito Union High School District will pilot the use of vape sensors on campuses to help sniff out and snuff out increasing student use.

The board’s Nov. 18 vote on the new system of vape sensors paired with cameras was 3-2 with trustees Julie Bronstein and Katrina Young opposed. The three high school student representatives that remained in attendance at the meeting also all voted against it.

The sensors will be piloted at one middle school and one high school. The district serves students in the communities of Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, Cardiff, Solana Beach, Del Mar and Carmel Valley.

Superintendent Cheryl James-Ward said the district knows that vaping is a serious problem. On the night she was selected as the district’s new superintendent last month, she said she fielded a request from a parent asking: “What are you going to do about the vaping in the bathrooms?”

Vice President Melisse Mossy said she had a student tell her they would not use the bathroom at school because it gives them so much anxiety. President Mo Muir said a student described the restroom at school as having “a grape fog” that she couldn’t go in.

Considered just as addictive as tobacco products, young people are attracted to vaping due to the liquid flavorings of fruit, candy and mint. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm adolescent brain development. The California Department of Public Health has issued a