Students and staff at two Montgomery ISD schools will have a hard time sneaking in a smoke break thanks to new vape-detecting technology installed in district bathrooms.
According to an ABC 13 report published Thursday, the district has placed 23 sensors in six bathrooms at Montgomery and Lake Creek high schools.
The units are Halo Smart Sensors, which the company site describes as a "vape detector, an air quality monitor and a complete security device for privacy areas where you do not want to use a camera or microphone." The devices provide automated air quality reports that "allow building owners and administrators to demonstrate they are providing a healthy indoor environment," according to the site. Halo's sensors can also detect THC and chemicals, lighting levels, room occupancy, as well as gunshots, "aggression" and spoken keywords via two mics built for audio analysis, not live recording.
Montgomery ISD board of trustees members approved roughly $49,000 in funding for the acquisition of Halo sensors, which run around $2,000 each, , according to ABC 13. A pilot program at Lake Creek High School began testing the sensors in April.
"Vapes are a tremendous challenge in schools all across Texas and all across the country," Montgomery ISD Superintendent Heath Morrisonn said. "You cannot solve a problem by ignoring it, and so we have to identify and make our schools the place where it is very challenging for students to engage in any level of vaping."
Signs will be posted at bathrooms informing students of the presence of sensors, according to Amanda Davis, Montgomery ISD Executive Director of Technology, who told ABC 13 that administrators will receive a text and email when the devices detect an incident has occurred.
"We want to make it challenging, we want to make it a deterrent," Harrison said. "We want to provide the appropriate consequence for the student, but even more so get them the help that they need to dissuade them from this practice and behavior that is not a positive one."
In March, Houston City Council passed a law banning vaping and smoking e-cigarettes in designated public spaces. The ban was approved as an addition to the city's existing ban on smoking in public places.
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