Local schools to receive state funding for vape detectors

By Reader Staff

The Lake Pend Oreille School District is among 31 other districts and charter schools around the state that will receive funding to install vape detectors in high school bathrooms and locker rooms through the Vape Detector Pilot grant.  

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The grant is funded by an allocation from the Idaho Millenium Fund and is administered by the  Idaho Department of Education. 

Sandpoint, Clark Fork and Lake Pend Oreille high schools, as well as Forrest Bird Charter Schools, will be beneficiaries of the program, which aims to both prevent vaping before it starts and provide staff with an added resource to intervene and assist students vaping in areas  equipped with detectors, according to a news release.

“Putting the right tools to address vaping into the hands of our school districts is an important  first step in tackling this problem and ensuring the health of our students and educational  communities,” Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield stated in the release. “I hope that schools  find this equipment to be an effective new resource in safeguarding the health and well-being of  their students.” 

Of 59 eligible applicants, 31 local education agencies were awarded funding. To receive funding, awardees were asked to provide evidence of a need for vape detectors, including details about  their current prevention and intervention efforts, incident reports of vaping in the 2022-’23 and 2023-’24 school years, along with a proposed budget for purchasing, installing and any additional costs.