How Denton ISD is complying with Texas’ new penalty guidelines for vaping

A new state law aimed keeping students from vaping on campus is driving up the number of students sent into a disciplinary education program, Denton ISD disciplinary records show.

The new initiative has drawn criticism from some health advocates, who claim it’s not solving the real issue, which they see as increasing enforcement against people who sell tobacco products to minors, rather than the minors themselves.

Backers of the law passed last year said it is intended to do two things: Change the punishment for students with e-cigarettes from referral to the juvenile justice system to in-school disciplinary programs, and encourage schools to crack down on the ballooning use of nicotine products.

Since the law went into effect Sept. 1, Denton ISD has seen an increase in students in disciplinary actions for vaping-related offenses. In the first four months of this school year, nine students were sent to disciplinary schooling compared to eight students all of last year.

Denton ISD officials say they are following the law.

“The health and wellness of our students has been, and will continue to be, our top priority in Denton ISD,” said Reece Waddell, spokesperson for school district. He declined further comment.

The problem of teen vaping has been the subject of congressional hearings and anti-smoking campaigns. More than 2.1 million students reported vaping in 2023, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey. Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and Texas.

The law was meant “to get flexibility back to the ISD and away from the criminal justice system,” said Ben Williams, chief of staff for state Rep. Ed Thompson, R-Pearland, who authored the law.

While the new law might not be perfect, it’s designed to keep more students in school as opposed to having them suspended and shoved into county disciplinary programs, Williams said.

“We want to keep these kids [in the school system]. The juvenile system is used for kids that brought a gun to school or punched somebody with a brass knuckle,” Williams said.

Violent offenders belong in the juvenile system, while “vaping kids do not,” he said.

Charlie Gagen, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, argued that the Texas law misses the mark.

“The intention was in the right place, but what we’d like to see is a shift of penalties from minors to adults,” Gagen said.

The consequences should target those who sell or provide vaping devices to minors, he said, adding the law needs “to hold adults more accountable.”

“When you divert kids out of the classroom into these alternative programs, it can open a doorway to more destructive behavior,” Gagen said.

Matthew Rossheim, a public health professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, agreed that the punishment is misdirected.

“The solution to this is not through disciplinary actions,” Rossheim said, pointing to corporations that market their products to young people.

“We have multibillion-dollar industries targeting young people with advertising and products that appeal to them. And they’re readily available in our communities,” he said.

A study by Advancing Science & Practice in the Retail Environment showed Fort Worth has 30 times more tobacco retailers than McDonald’s restaurants.

“There’s no dedicated funding or annual compliance program to ensure stores aren’t selling these products to kids,” Gagen said.

Texas ranks last in the nation on spending on youth tobacco prevention programs, according to the American Lung Association, which is pushing for “more resources for youth prevention and cessation.”