Vaping in a Windsor-Essex high school bathroom? Your principal will soon know

By the end of the year, principals at every Catholic high school in Windsor-Essex will be able to know when students are vaping in the bathroom. 

That's thanks to thousands of dollars worth of vape detectors being installed across the board. 

The public school board hopes to follow suit, once its funding from the Ministry of Education arrives. 

Earlier this year, the provincial government said schools would have funding available to add vape detectors in bathrooms, as a way to discourage the rising trend among students. 

According to 2024 data from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), 5.6 per cent of students in grade 7 to 12 have reported vaping daily in the past year. That's compared to 0.6 per cent of students in the same grades who report smoking tobacco cigarettes, but not daily.  

Both local school boards say vape detectors are meant to protect the health of students and also ensure bathrooms are welcoming spaces for everyone to use. 

The Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board (WECDSB) piloted vaping sensors in three of its schools last year. It's now adding them in to each of its high schools. Right now, it has sensors in 20 washrooms and by the end of December, it will have them in all 76 high school bathrooms.

How do the detectors work? 

According to the WECDSB's communications coordinator, Stephen Fields, the vape detectors are square boxes installed on the bathroom ceiling. 

"If the sensor detects that there's vape fumes in the room, it will alert the administration in the school via text message or email message," said Fields. 

The board has also set up cameras outside of the bathrooms, so they can see who is entering and exiting. Based on that, they can identify who was in the bathroom when the alert was sent.

No hard data from pilot just yet, says Catholic board 

Fields says the board has received $89,000 in funding this year, and will get double that over the next two years. 

He says they don't have data to share from the pilot right now, but added, anecdotally, administration is hearing from the principals involved in the pilot that the detectors are working. 

"It has had a significant effect," Fields said. 

"There's a lot of students who have limited the behaviour at least in those washrooms." 

Meanwhile, the Greater Essex County District School Board (GECDSB) says it only has detectors in one school right now: Erie Migration District School in Kingsville. 

Since the school newly opened this year, the board only has about two weeks worth of vape detector data. 

"It is sparking some conversations with students," said Joe Bell, who is the GECDSB's superintendent of student wellbeing. 

Bell says they are planning to add sensors in more schools if funding arrives in the next few months. 

In an email, Ministry of Education spokesperson Edyta McKay told CBC News it has set aside $30 million for schools over three years to "promote school safety," which includes vape detectors. 

"To ensure student privacy, if a school decides they would like to install vape detectors they are required to not have audio or video capabilities." 

Suspension is a last resort, say school boards

If school administration identifies the student that was likely vaping in the bathroom, both school boards said they will be pulled aside for a chat. 

"What we typically do would be to have a discussion with that student and ... call on the parent and have a discussion with them," said Fields, adding if continues, the student will face "progressive discipline."

This is the same process the public board takes, said Bell, noting students found with vapes are expected to turn them in to the principal.

He says with these detectors, they won't immediately suspend students, but will work to educate them on the harmful effects of vaping. 

"We have schools that have already started building out some ... interactive lessons for students to engage in if they are found either vaping or near folks that are vaping and give them an opportunity to learn a little bit more," he said. 

Students share mixed thoughts on the rollout 

One student who goes to Walkerville Collegiate High School told CBC News they think vape sensors are a "good measure." 

"There are a lot of people at my school, including myself, who do not vape, so going into the bathroom seeing a lot of people in the bathrooms on school property vaping, I know it can be intimidating for a lot of people," said Ace Lay. 

"Enforcing rules like this will at least keep it out of these areas and hopefully maybe discourage people from vaping elsewhere." 

Meanwhile, another Grade 11 student from Walkerville Collegiate said they don't think vape detectors should be a priority for the school. 

"They could be getting air conditioning and a whole bunch of other school supplies for our school," said Boston LeClaire, who quit vaping a few months ago. 

"I understand that kids and teens shouldn't be vaping, but with all these extra measures that they're putting into place, it's just making kids want to vape more." 

Vaping is harmful for youth: Health unit 

But the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU), which partners with schools to provide resources and education to discourage students from vaping, says it's important youth are aware of the harmful impacts. 

"Young people's brains are particularly vulnerable to the effects of nicotine," said Kelly Farrugia, manager of WECHU's Healthy Schools program. 

Nicotine is a highly addictive substance found in many vape products, says Farrugia.

She added it particularly impacts learning, memory and attention. 

"It also increases the risk of addiction to other substances, which is of great concern." 

Vaping products also contain toxic substances that can impact the lungs. 

WECHU has resources online for parents that can help them talk to their kids about vaping. 

As for the vape detectors in schools, both local boards say they plan to track the impact detectors have and whether they see a change in student behaviour.