CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Last school year, students at area schools were sent to the Nueces County Courthouse if they were caught with a vape. This year, it's not just the courthouse that they’ll have to report to.
Senate Bill 428 says that Texas students caught in possession or use of a vape or e-cigarette on campus may be taken away from their campus and sent to their district’s disciplinary alternative educational program. Corpus Christi Independent School District confirmed this action.
Last year, Nueces County Precinct 1 Judge Joe Benavides saw about a thousand cases related to vaping in his courtroom as young as 5th graders to seniors in high school. When students see Benavides for their Class C misdemeanor, he has the option to put students caught vaping on a 60-day probation. Within those 60 days, if students show up to their classes and stay out of trouble with the law, Benavides will dismiss their charge.
"I believe that if we try to reach out to our kids at a younger age, the outcome would be much positive on the eradication of vaping," Benavides said.
Benavides said he has seen many kids come into his courtroom in trouble but come out with a new perspective on life. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi graduate Sylvia Zalazar knows what it's like to get a second chance.
"It made me want to fix my life and not go on a downward path like my peers, and it made me want to become a better person," Zalazar said.
Benavides also wants students to educate themselves about the harmful effects of vaping.
"It raises your blood pressure and it can raise your pulse and so what happens is you couple that with energy drinks, and kids are running around with heart problems. For one moment, you’re young and fun and trying something new, and the next thing you know, you’re 65 years old and you’re on oxygen. All it takes is one puff to get addicted," nurse practitioner Sylvia McMahan said.
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