After Discussion, New School Smoking Policy Adopted

Students who get caught smoking on school grounds will soon have a way to avoid a suspension.

Brick's Board of Education on Thursday approved a policy change that will allow students to participate in a free smoking cessation program sponsored by Barnabas Health instead of serving a suspension for violating the district's ban on tobacco.

The policy change has been , as some board members initially felt uncomfortable voting in favor of what they saw as a loosening of the rules, saying that the policy took away the disciplinary component of the anti-smoking rule.

But school officials, including Principal Dennis Filippone, supported the policy change at board meetings all along. Filippone has said that only students who genuinely want to quit smoking would participate in the program, while some other students might take a suspension. Students under 18 would need their parents to sign off before participating in the program, which would include smoking cessation classes off school grounds, provided for free by Barnabas Health. Taxpayers will not fund the program.

Before Thursday's vote, the district's tobacco policy called for an in-school suspension after the first two violations, then an out-of-school suspension for the third violation. Filippone said Thursday that under the current policy, students will have the chance to participate in the program until the third violation, when they will have to serve a suspension. But students and staff will always have access to the program whether they violate the rules or not.

Board members debated the policy change again Thursday night, and considered putting off the vote to another meeting date, but Filippone said Barnabas Health had other school districts interested and they might drop Brick from being able to participate without a vote.

"If it's not approved, I can see where their question would be, 'what more can we do to get it approved?,' said Filippone.

With the exception of board member Walter Campbell, the board voted in favor of approving the policy change. Now, Barnabas Health can begin working with school district personnel to implement the program, school officials said.

Before discussion on the subject ended, board member John Talty had one bit of advice for teachers: lead by example.

"When kids see teachers smoking in our district, that does not send a very good message," he said.

Teachers can participate in the free program as well.