CLERMONT, Fla. — Lake County public school officials hope to crack down on student vaping by installing detectors on school property.

The district has secured a grant to install vape detection devices in and around restrooms, and plan to use the detectors in conjunction with a vape detecting dog, who’s already on the job.

East Ridge High School in Clermont will be the first school to test out the devices. 

Director of Safety and Security for Lake County Schools, Joseph Mabry, says bathrooms are hot spots for students vaping.

“And though students will attempt to avoid that and vape in other places, that is where we find most of that is happening,” said Mabry.

Thanks to a $97,000 grant derived by the Safer Schools Act of 2022, he says high-tech vaping detectors will help deter students.

“The algorithms continue to change as technology changes, so to do the sensors that can pick up on different chemicals and different combinations of air particles,” said Mabry.

This is not the first time lake county schools have tackled the problem.

A vape detecting dog named Samba was introduced last year, that Mabry says is making a difference.

“Not only is she finding and detecting things on students, but her presence on campus is a deterrent,” he said.

Mabry says there were over a thousand vaping incidents reported in the 2022-23 school year. 

Officials plan to have the vape detectors up and running by March 2025.