Jim Thorpe Area School District is updating its tobacco policy for the first time in more than a decade, broadening its reach to cover vaping, electronic cigarettes and all nicotine delivery devices. Administration told the school board Wednesday that the existing rule, last revised in 2014, was never written with those products in mind.

The proposed policy, presented at a committee meeting as a first reading, retitles the existing “Tobacco” policy as “Tobacco and Vaping Products” and expands the definition of a prohibited substance far beyond cigarettes. Under the draft language, a tobacco product would include any electronic device that delivers nicotine or another substance to a person inhaling from it, including electronic cigarettes, cigars, pipes and hookahs. It would also cover any product containing, made from or derived from tobacco or nicotine, in either natural or synthetic form, that is intended for human consumption by any means, including products smoked, heated, chewed, absorbed, dissolved, inhaled, snorted or ingested.

“We just made it broader, because now they just keep making new things that have nicotine in them,” Superintendent Robert Presley said. “We need to expand our definition of what used to be just a cigarette.”

The existing policy, adopted in 2004 and last amended in March 2014, defines tobacco only as lighted or unlighted cigarettes, cigars, pipes, other smoking products and smokeless tobacco in any form; written years before vaping became widespread.

The proposed rewrite also explicitly addresses medical marijuana, citing Pennsylvania Department of Health guidance directing schools to prohibit possession of any form of medical marijuana by students at any time on school property or during any school activities. Administrators told the board that language was prompted by a real situation in one of the district’s buildings.

“We did have a student in one of our buildings where the parent brought in a note saying this student has anxiety, and was requesting that we give medical marijuana,” Presley said. “We said absolutely not. You may come and take the person off the property and then you can bring that person back.”

When asked about students who appear impaired while claiming to use the drug medicinally, Presley said the district would treat that as a separate offense.

“If a student who said they’re on medical marijuana comes in totally high, that is a misuse of medical marijuana,” he said. “Medical marijuana should not do that to you if you’re using it properly. They would then fall under our policy for substance abuse. You’re coming in misusing it, you now fall under the controlled substance paraphernalia policy, which would get you suspended.”

Under the proposed policy, tobacco cessation products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration remain an exception, but only when not inhaled and only when governed by the district’s separate medication policy, which would require a physician’s authorization. School counselors would also be required to provide students who violate the policy with information about available cessation programs; language not present in the current version.

The draft also adds that anyone who tampers with devices installed to detect use of tobacco products would face disciplinary action.

Wellness policy

The board also reviewed an updated wellness policy covering the 2026-29 school years, which the district is required by law to revise every three years. Administrators said the most significant discussion during the policy committee’s review centered on outside food, particularly birthday treats brought by parents, and how to bring practice into alignment with the written policy.

“We need to really start looking at cutting down, because we will go to parties and there will be cupcakes, but that doesn’t follow our policy,” Presley said. “We have people with lots of allergies, so we have to be careful about allowing outside food into the school, especially cooked baked goods that are high in calories and sugar content.”

The updated wellness policy states that classroom parties shall offer a minimal amount of sugary items, no more than two or three, and must also provide fresh fruits or vegetables along with water, 100% juice diluted with water, or low-fat milk.

Presley acknowledged the practical difficulty of enforcing that standard against birthday traditions but said the district’s food service operation could offer a compliant alternative.

“You can also order things through the Nutrition Group that will still meet our regulations,” he said.

Officials said Wednesday they expected some community resistance once the change is enforced.

Other policies reviewed at Wednesday’s meeting included an update to the district’s student discipline records policy, covering the handling of probation documents for adjudicated students; a new Student Assistance Program policy establishing formal procedures for referring struggling students to support teams; and a revised threat assessment policy updated in response to a new state-issued application for tracking such incidents.

All were presented for discussion and remain subject to board approval.