Photo: Getty Images
A pilot program in the San Dieguito Union High School District will install sensors in school bathrooms that will prevent kids from vaping in the restrooms.
According to KGTV, parents in the district hope the program will keep their kids from vaping.
"I was shocked at what I learned in terms of how many are vaping," Kari Prevost, whose sixteen-year-old son got caught doing it with a group of other students at school, told KGTV.
Prevost said she learned many students started experimenting with e-cigarettes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"A lot of the kids experimented especially during Covid because of boredom, a lot of the kids think they’re in control," she said.
School Board Trustee Michael Allman introduced a resolution to use technology to try and prevent vaping in school bathrooms.
"Some parents have reported that it’s uncomfortable for their children to use the restrooms in the school, it’s a haze of exhaled vapors that has strong flavors that make it uncomfortable to use the restrooms," Trustee Allman told KGTV.
According to the CDC, an estimated 20% of middle school students have tried vaping and 40% by high school.
The board voted 3-2 to invest over $11,000 to install the sensors. When vaping is detected a text message will be sent and cameras placed outside the restrooms will help identify who is responsible.