USE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS

BOARD POLICY - 5131.62

The Board of Education recognizes the serious health risks presented by tobacco use and will ensure, through the adoption of consistent policies and practices, that students are made aware of those risks and, to the extent possible, protected from them. The Superintendent or designee shall establish a coordinated school health system which includes a comprehensive behavioral health education component that teaches students the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to lead healthy lives and to avoid high-risk behaviors, such as tobacco use.  The Superintendent or designee shall provide prevention, intervention, and cessation education, including activities and referrals for students as needed. The District will also ensure consistent enforcement of District policies prohibiting student possession and use of tobacco products.

Prohibition Against Tobacco Use

Students shall not possess, smoke, or use tobacco or any product containing tobacco or nicotine while on campus, attending school-sponsored activities, or while under the supervision of District employees.

Smoking means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying of any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, pipe, tobacco, or plant product intended for inhalation, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or form, and includes the use of an electronic smoking device that creates aerosol or vapor or of any oral smoking device for the purpose of circumventing the prohibition of smoking. 

Tobacco products include:

  • A product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption, whether smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted, sniffed, or ingested by any other means, including, but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco, or snuff.
  • An electronic device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids to the person inhaling from the device, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, cigar, pipe, or hookah.
  • Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately.

These prohibitions do not apply to a student's possession or use of his/her own prescription products.  However, student possession or use of prescription products in school shall be subject to the Irvine Unified School District's policy and regulation for addressing the administration of medications on campus.  

Prevention Instruction
The Irvine Unified School District shall provide developmentally appropriate tobacco-use prevention instruction for students at selected grade levels from K-12 pursuant to Education Code 51202. Such instruction shall be aligned with state content standards and state curriculum framework for health education and with any requirements of state and/or federal grant programs in which the District participates.

Intervention/Cessation Services

The Irvine Unified School District may provide or refer students to counseling, intensive education, and other intervention services to assist in the cessation of tobacco use. When appropriate, such intervention services may be provided as an alternative to suspension for tobacco possession.

Program Planning

The Irvine Unified School District’s tobacco use prevention and intervention program shall be based on an assessment of tobacco-use problems in District schools and the community, an examination of existing services and activities in the community, and a determination of high-risk student populations that are most in need of District services.

The Superintendent or designee shall:

  • Coordinate with the local health department and county office of education in program planning and implementation. 
  • Coordinate the District's tobacco-use prevention and intervention program with other District efforts to reduce students' use of illegal substances and to promote student wellness.  
  • Select tobacco-use prevention programs based on the model program designs identified by the California Department of Education (CDE) and may adapt the model to meet District needs. 
  • Not accept for distribution any materials or advertisements that promote the use or sale of tobacco products and not accept tobacco-use prevention or intervention funds or materials from the tobacco industry or from any entity which is known to have received funding from the tobacco industry.

Program Evaluation
To evaluate the effectiveness of the District’s program, the Superintendent or designee shall biennially administer the California Healthy Kids Survey or other appropriate student survey at selected grade levels in order to assess student attitudes toward tobacco and student use of tobacco. The Superintendent or designee also shall report to the CDE if required, the data specified in Health and Safety Code 104450. The results of program evaluations shall be used to refine program goals and objectives and make changes as needed to strengthen program implementation.

Legal Reference:

EDUCATION CODE

8900 Suspension or expulsion (grounds)

48900.5 Suspension, limitation on imposition; exception

48901 Smoking or use of tobacco prohibited

51202 Instruction in personal and public health and safety

60041 Instructional materials, portrayal of effects of tobacco use

 

PENAL CODE

308 Minimum age for tobacco possession

CODE OF REGULATIONS, TITLE 17

6800 Definition, health assessment

6844-6847 Child Health and Disability Prevention program; health assessments

UNITED STATES CODE, TITLE 20

7111-7122 Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS, TITLE 21

1140.1-1140.34 Unlawful sale of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco to minors

 

Policy Adopted: September 2, 1986
Policy Revised: March 18, 2014

Policy Revised: October 16, 2018

 

Administrative Regulations