HR 1829: Georgia schools and boards of education; adopt evidence-based discipline policies and procedures to address the public health crisis of student vape and e-cigarette use; urge

This resolution does not create new law or funding. It expresses the Georgia House of Representatives' position on how schools should respond to student vaping and e-cigarette use, which it describes as a widespread problem in Georgia schools. The resolution points to data showing vaping is a leading cause of school discipline in Georgia and that long suspensions can hurt students' chances of graduating. It urges schools and boards of education to move away from zero-tolerance discipline, meaning automatic suspension or expulsion, and instead use alternative-to-suspension programs such as the Department of Public Health's Opt-Out Live Vape Free Program, its Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit, the American Lung Association's INDEPTH and N-O-T programs, and behavioral health services from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. It directs the Clerk of the House to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and press.

• Urges Georgia schools and boards of education to stop using zero-tolerance discipline for student vaping and e-cigarette use.
• Encourages schools to adopt alternative-to-suspension programs that focus on education and cessation rather than punishment.
• Names specific existing programs schools can use, including the Department of Public Health's Opt-Out Live Vape Free Program and Tobacco-Free Schools Toolkit.
• Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to distribute copies of the resolution to the public and the press.
• Creates no new statute, funding, or legal requirement; it only states the House's position and encouragement.

Georgia public school students, teachers, and administrators, along with local school boards that set discipline policy. The Department of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and organizations like the American Lung Association are named as sources of alternative programs schools could use.

Because this is a resolution, it does not force any school to change its discipline rules. But it puts the House's weight behind moving away from suspending or expelling students caught vaping, which the resolution says can lower graduation rates, toward treatment-focused programs already available at no cost to schools.

• The whereas clauses cite data that 18.2 percent of Georgia high schoolers vape, more than double the national average, and that vaping is the second leading cause of school discipline incidents in the state.
• The resolution notes suspensions of 10 or more days can cut graduation likelihood in half, linking discipline practices to long-term outcomes like joblessness and justice involvement.
• The operative resolving clause urges schools and boards of education to reject zero tolerance approaches in favor of alternative-to-suspension programs.
• A further resolving clause directs the Clerk of the House to make copies available to the public and press.

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• Michelle Au (D, HD-050)Patrocinador principal

• student vaping
• school discipline
• public health
• e-cigarettes
• education policy