Achi news desk-
More security cameras and vape detectors could soon be installed in Ontario schools, with the announcement of $30 million in funding for school safety in the provincial budget this week.
Education Minister Stephen Lecce says he is “very concerned” about students vaping at school and hopes to install vape detectors – which are similar to smoke detectors but detect vapor – in places like bathrooms help keep them healthy and safe.
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Some of the latest data available suggests that about one in five students in Grades 10 to 12 evaporated in 2021-22, which was down from a few years earlier, but there was a slight increase among younger students.
The Near North Area School Board implemented a pilot project with vape detectors in bathrooms and locker rooms in one school and says it was successful in tackling the use of e-cigarettes in the school.
The $30 million in funding over three years will also be available to school boards for other school security equipment, such as security cameras, lighting and other security upgrades.
Lecce says the equipment will help improve security in schools and on school property, in order to tackle school violence and incidents in the community that affect schools.
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
