Lee County schools getting new safety feature: vape detectors

The Lee County School District is implementing new safety enhancements, including more security staff and vape detectors.

Five schools will be receiving this as part of a pilot program this school year:

• Estero High School
• Fort Myers High School
• Cape Coral High School
• Lexington Middle School
• Caloosa Middle School

They were added to Charlotte County schools last year, which helped to mitigate some of the high number of students caught vaping on campus.

However, with vaping being the new trend, more school districts are relying on technology to help.

Lee County schools have joined the ranks, with several newly implemented safety measures.

A new school year is quickly approaching and Lee County schools are ready.

“We’re very excited. We have lots of new projects that we’re working on,” said Rachel Gould, one of the School Administrators.

Gould says one of those new projects includes vape detection, “We are piloting five schools to install vape detectors. The vape detectors detect the chemicals in the vape smoke, and then they alert the administration,” said Gould. “They can be programmed to make noise or just to alert the admin on their app, on their phone or the computer.”

The vape detectors will be installed in each bathroom in five Lee County middle and high schools.

Cameras in the halls document any activity, but safety measures don’t stop there.

David Newlan, the Executive Director of Safety and Security for Lee County schools says they’ve added something more, designated safe areas for students inside each classroom.

Newlan went on to explain, “The second thing is identifying an area in every classroom and instructional space, whether it be some type of symbol, decal, symbol sticker, or something that identifies during an emergency; where do students go to emergency in every classroom or instructional space? Then the students are shown those locations by the first 10 days of school.”

The district has also partnered with several law enforcement agencies for an added layer of security.

“We walk the campuses with local law enforcement to see how can we improve their response time. What can we do if something were to happen, they want to get on campus as soon as possible, as fast as possible, to mitigate the issue and to protect our students and staff,” said Newlan.

Last year, over a thousand vaping incidents were reported in the Lee County School District, so schools aren’t just relying on detectors, they also plan to educate students and parents on the dangers of vaping as part of their new initiative.