ABBEVILLE, La — Students are returning to Vermilion Parish schools halls to start the 2024-2025 school year. In an effort to keep students focused on their education and the material in front of them, schools across the parish are taking significant steps to address the growing vaping epidemic.
According to the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey, the use of tobacco products among middle schoolers has risen compared to 2022, with the percentage of students using multiple tobacco products increasing from 1.5% to 2.5%.
Vaping Policy
In response to this increase, Superintendent Tommy Blyer has announced that the school system is implementing stricter policies for students found with nicotine or THC vapes on campus.
For a first offense, students caught with a vape will face a 30-day suspension. However, if the vape tests positive for THC, the punishment can escalate to a recommended expulsion, and the case and vape will be turned over to law enforcement.
"We are taking a stance," Blyer says. "If you get possession of a vape you are going to 30 days long term suspension at our alternative program. We are sending a message that we have to get these things off our campus."
For more details on the new vaping policy, see below:
Absentee Notes Policy Update
As students return to J.H. Williams Middle School in Abbeville, a recently amended Louisiana law is changing how unexcused absences statewide are defined. KATC spoke with Superintendent Tommy Blyer, who provided insight into this change.
"There was some vagueness when it came to do you accept parent notes or do you not, accept parent notes. All absences students are allowed to make up work, but the state has now defined in the new law that a parent note is an unexcused absence," he said.
Blyer also tells KATC that Vermilion Parish schools are committed to working with parents and students who do miss school to help ensure that all work can be made up.
To read more about the unexcused absences changes, click here.
