Vape Policy

Hello CPS Community!

We want to make you aware of a new policy on vapes at CPS due to problems with vapes being used inside the school. If vapes are seen inside the school building, they will be confiscated and only be given back to a parent or guardian who is at least 21 years old.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Here is the specific policy:

Vaping is not allowed inside the building. Vaping and smoking must take place at least 25 feet from any entrance. If a vape is seen inside the building, it will be confiscated and only released to a parent or guardian who is at least 21 years of age.

Rationale

Since July 1, 2019, the state of Colorado has expanded The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act to specify that smoking or vaping is not allowed in any public building and must take place at least 25 feet away from any entrance to a public building [Link]. Furthermore, HB20-1001 raised the legal age to purchase tobacco products from 18 to 21 [Link]. El Paso County has declared teen vaping a public health crisis [Link]. Studies show that secondhand vapor from e-cigarette products contains the same harmful chemicals ingested when vaping [Link]. 

The school has a waiver from being a tobacco-free campus:

22-32-109(1)(bb)(l) Local board duties concerning tobacco use

• *Authority for this area is delegated to the charter school. Regrettably, tobacco use among AEC students is common. In order to reduce and eliminate tobacco use among students, CPS implements initiatives across its curriculum emphasizing awareness of the short and long-term effects of tobacco use, incentives, tracking mechanisms, and encouragement to reduce and eliminate tobacco use, and specific courses on tobacco use cessation.

• CPS will continue its comprehensive initiatives concerning tobacco use. Annual survey data will be utilized to track tobacco use by students over time. Due to the school’s location bordering high-traffic streets in a high-density residential neighborhood, tobacco use will be allowed in a designated, supervised area on the perimeter of the campus.

• Implementation of CPS’s tobacco use policies and tobacco use cessation initiatives will foster increased safety for students, commuters, and neighborhood residents.

Considering this waiver, vaping will be allowed on campus outside of the building and beyond the 25 foot requirement.

Below is the poster we are using to educate students on the new policy.