Schools around the country are installing sensors and cameras to crack down on student vaping and handing out harsh punishments for many who are caught.
When Aaliyah Iglesias was caught vaping at a Texas high school, she didn’t realize how much could be taken from her.
Suddenly, the rest of her high school experience was threatened: being student council president, her role as debate team captain and walking at graduation. Even her college scholarships were at risk. She was sent to the district’s alternative school for 30 days and told she could have faced criminal charges.
Like thousands of other students around the country, she was caught by surveillance equipment that schools have installed to crack down on electronic cigarettes, often without informing students.
I work in a public school, and vaping is a big problem. I don’t know what is in the vapes, but when the students come back from the bathroom their eyes are red with dilated pupils, they can barely talk, and they fall asleep at their desk within ten minutes. It makes me nervous how lightly the kids take it.