Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced Wednesday that vape detectors will be installed at several high schools in the district in the coming weeks. The school system says this is part of a new safety initiative to prevent students from smoking and congregating in school bathrooms.
MCPS says the detectors will provide administrators the opportunity to take appropriate action by helping to identify instances of vaping and smoking. MCPS also plans to pilot a seperate program involving students wearing ID badges on campus to help staff and security recognize who belongs on campus.
Alongside these efforts, MCPS is continuing their “Student Restroom Monitoring Plan” amid concerns about bathroom safely. This involved staff increasing the amount of restroom checks, limiting access to designated restrooms, and installing latches on exterior doors.
The detectors are in the process of being installed. It is not clear which high schools will have these vape detectors installed.
