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Lakeland Joint School District considers installing vape detectors in school bathrooms

If Lakeland decides to move forward with the detectors, the district said students and parents would be informed before they are installed.

RATHDRUM, Idaho — School administrators with the Lakeland Joint School District have asked the Board of Trustees to consider installing vape detectors in school restrooms.

However, the board needs details on how much this would cost before making a final decision.

According to the school district, a large portion of students are vaping. Superintended Lisa Arnold said Rathdrum Police issued 81 citations to minors for vaping throughout the last two years.

At Mountain View High School, the district's alternative high school, 40 of the 100 enrolled students are vaping.

To combat the rise in youth vaping, the district has proposed Air Quality Alarms be installed in school bathrooms. When chemicals from vaping are detected in the air, the alarm will send an electronic alert to staff in the front office.

According to KREM 2's partners at the Coeur d'Alene Press, the school district could take advantage of a three-month free trial of two alarms. After those three months, it would cost approximately $1,000 per alarm.

It is not known how much the project would cost in total. 

If the district decides to move forward with the detectors, the district said students and parents would be informed before they are installed.

Lakeland Joint School District would not be the first in the region to install vape detectors; Spokane Public Schools (SPS) approved the installation of these alarms in school bathrooms in August.

KREM 2 reached out to SPS to ask how many detectors have been installed but has not yet heard back.

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