SHEPHERD — Authorities are investigating after a mother claimed that a 6-year-old student brought a vape onto a school bus in Shepherd last week, inhaled it and shared the device with fellow students.
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her daughter, claims that her 6-year-old daughter was among those students who tried the device.
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"She told me, 'Mom, I have to be honest with you. Another kid on the bus had a vape,'" the mother said. "And I was like, 'And you tried it?' and she was like, 'Yeah, I did.'"
The mother said she was enraged, and she immediately contacted the school.
"I got very like, 'Are you serious? You did this right now?'" the mother said. "The next morning, I went to the school and let them know. They didn’t know anything, and this was now day three."
The district alerted the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office. The agency said the guardian of the girl who shared the vape was initially cited with endangering a child and scheduled to appear in justice court. However, Sheriff Mike Linder confirmed Wednesday that the citation was rescinded, and the county attorney's office is reviewing the case.
Shepherd School District officials declined MTN's requests for interviews, saying they could not comment on an ongoing investigation. Nevertheless, parents are upset at what happened.
"People vape, and if you’re of age, you can do that," the mother said. "I’ve explained that to my kids, but at that age, you’re not allowed to do that."
Caroline Joyce is the executive director of Parents Against Vaping, a nonprofit formed by a group of New York mothers in 2018 out of concerns about vaping in schools. Joyce said that situations like these are becoming more likely as the vaping epidemic grows.
"Vaping is starting to reach more elementary school-aged children," Joyce said on Wednesday morning. "These products are widely available. They are widely appealing, and they are in the hands of youth all over the country."
Joyce blames the vape manufacturers and advertising, which she said targets the youth and claims that vaping is safe.
"Unfortunately, it's poison. What they're inhaling and putting in their bodies, it's poison for them," Joyce said.
Joyce said her organization hosts webinars and has other resources for parents to combat the epidemic and avoid situations like these. While her organization works with parents all across the U.S., she admits that vaping at this early of an age is rare and hopes those involved get help.
"Six is incredibly alarming," Joyce said. "It’s just an indication of all the systemic failures that a 6-year-old has the device in their hands at all."
Joyce said that even though authorities are involved, punishment isn't going to fix the problem.
"It’s not as simple as just shaming and punishing and blaming the parents," Joyce said. "It’s more complex than that."
