RUSD files lawsuit against JUUL

With unanimous support from the Board of Trustees on Jan. 15, Rocklin Unified School District filed a lawsuit in Placer County Superior Court Wednesday against JUUL, the largest manufacturer in the nation of vaping products. The district's lawsuit was filed on the same day as several other Northern California districts and follows the effort initiated by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which first alleged JUUL cultivated and fostered the e-cigarette epidemic that disrupts education and learning environments. Much like other district filing lawsuits against JUUL, Rocklin Unified School District seeks compensatory damages to provide relief from the district's financial losses as a result of students being absent from school, coordinating outreach and education programs regarding the health risks of vaping, and enforcement actions, according to a press release. The release states such enforcement actions include vape detectors, video surveillance, and staff to monitor the school's property in an effort to combat the e-cigarette crisis. While Rocklin Unified School District is significantly smaller than many districts filing the lawsuit, Board of Trustees President Rick Miller said Rocklin schools are not immune to the challenges that youth vaping presents. "We're not joining this because we see this as a problem in L.A. or San Francisco, it is clearly a problem right here in Rocklin," Miller said. "Given the fact that we know we're struggling, we know there is the potential for real harm to our students, we felt a real obligation to protect our students. This was one of the best ways we could do it in an overall picture." While the board has always been reluctant to participate in any litigation efforts, Miller said, JUUL's specific targeting of youth combined with the fact that no allocation of district funds were used to join the lawsuit propelled the action forward. Superintendent Roger Stock said student vaping within the district has increased over the past several years, with most reported instances occurring at the high school and middle school level. While no specific data sets are available for Rocklin schools, the California Department of Public Health notes a drastic rise in reported youth vaping from 2017 to 2018. According to its 2018 data set, 16 percent of 11th-graders; 13 percent of ninth-graders; and eight percent of seventh-graders reported using vaping products regularly. In some cases, the numbers reported by the California Public Health Department have doubled over the previous year. While health concerns are a prominent focus of the lawsuit, especially with heightened media attention given to high-profile illnesses and even death, vaping has had a profound effect in disrupting learning. "Our students are losing class time because they are in the office for discipline or other diversion education activities," Stock said. "It also means our staff is increasingly being taken away from their work to deal with this issue. That's really been the impact we have seen day in and week out in our schools." Miller said vaping detection devices in restrooms, increased monitoring by staff for vaping and disciplinary action all warrant time and effort to be diverted from education. Considering the legal age to possess tobacco products is 21, Stock said California Education Code allows for disciplinary action up to suspension for students. But while discipline is utilized by administration, Stock said the best long-term outcomes are from addressing the issue through education and raising awareness. While Miller and Stock touched on how large a challenge it will be to curtail youth vaping, both agreed the legal action taken on by the Board of Trustees is a step in the right direction. "To us, we look at this in terms of being able to provide the best achievement and wellness outcomes for all of our students," Stock said. "We feel by taking this public policy stance regarding youth is very important to us and our community role. Not only do we want to educate kids but we feel we are advocates for our larger community."