As Texas schools wrap up another academic year overshadowed by vaping concerns, Houston Independent School District (HISD) reports a notable drop in the number of students placed in alternative education programs for vaping-related offenses. According to data shared by the district, only 216 students faced such discipline in spring 2024, as opposed to 370 from September to early December 2023. By exploiting a legal loophole, HISD, alongside other districts, has leveraged its District of Innovation status to write exemptions to the state's stringent zero-tolerance vaping law, giving educators room for discretion, particularly with first-time offenders, the Houston Chronicle outlined.
The zero-tolerance law, sponsored by State Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland, mandated mandatory placement in a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) for any student caught with an e-cigarette. Originally intended to arm schools with a way to "get kids' attention" about the risks of vaping, the law has been both lauded and criticized for its severity. A Texas crackdown, reflected through HB114, has led to more than 1,300 students from the area's largest school districts being sent to DAEPs this school year. HISD counted 244 of those students, a number previously higher before their exemption policy took effect, a point thoroughly investigated and covered by ABC13.
Under the watchful eyes of disciplinary committees, the law, in practice, has evolved. The initial intent of HB114 was to address a trend that saw over 2.1 million students nationwide reporting e-cigarette use in 2023. Attorney General and tobacconist Steve Kelder, whose shop is located mere blocks from UTHealth, pointed out that e-cigarettes have the alarming potential to saddle youths with life-long addictions. Thompson, however, hoped his legislation would encourage more internal handling of the issue, away from the criminal justice system, and indeed, HISD's adoption of the exemption seems to reflect a movement in that direction.
Still, the fallout from punitive approaches to student vaping has stirred concern among experts and parents alike. "Sending kids to a Disciplinary Alternative Education Program (DAEP) school for a first-time vaping offense is ineffective, cruel, and harmful. Frankly, we shouldn't be surprised when our kids are using something that's been marketed to them. And instead of punishing them, at least initially, what we should be doing is trying to help them and educate them," Celeste Milligan, a parent and co-chair of an HISD advisory committee, told ABC13. Research underscores the long-term consequences of such disciplinary measures. Toted around Texas, facts from a 2020 IDRA study reveal that students removed from regular school settings are significantly more likely to end up in the justice system later on. Fort Bend and Cy-Fair ISDs have tackled the issue by instituting preventive and educational programs instead of immediate alternative placement for first-time offenders.
The silver lining seems to be a decreasing national teen vaping rate, cited by the Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey and acknowledged by Thompson as a hopeful sign of the impact of vigilant regulations. "I'm hoping this bill will bring awareness not only to the schools, but also to the parents. They have to understand the gravity of this issue and have those conversations with their kids to make sure that they're aware of the dangers of these vape pens," Thompson told the Houston Chronicle. On the front lines of this battle, educators and districts utilizing their innovate freedoms are mapping pathways forward that might strike the delicate balance between disciplining and educating, providing greater focus on addiction resources and less on criminalization.
