At the last school board meeting, the board approved district-wide funding for INDEPTH, a tobacco use prevention program. 

 INDEPTH, or “Intervention for Nicotine Dependence: Education, Prevention, Tobacco and Health,” is a seminar-based program created by the American Lung Association. 

 In the latest meeting, the board approved a $50 per occurrence payment for a “Vape Education Instructor.” This instructor will be a person from Olentangy Local School’s existing staff who will undergo training to lead the program seminars. 

Mr. Randy Wright, Olentangy School District’s Chief of Administrative Services, is part of the team that researched the INDEPTH program and bought it for the high school officials so that they could implement it in the district. 

“Each of our high school teams have staff members who have volunteered to complete the facilitator training through the American Lung Association,” said  Wright. “Once trained, they are available to lead students who choose the education option.” 

INDEPTH is relatively new, as its pilot program launched only in 2019. The pilot’s results show that 60% of students who participated were willing to quit. Since then, it has been implemented in many schools and communities nationwide, Olentangy included. 

“We saw continued increases in violations of our ATOD policy, particularly with students vaping at school,” said Wright. “We did not feel there was a good equivalent program to address the dangers of vaping, so our research discovered the INDEPTH program.” 

INDEPTH is not a cessation program, nor is it aimed at making teens stop vaping. Instead, it is an educational approach to any ATOD violations, giving students any resources they need. This gives more power to the students in what they choose to do, helping them move forward however they want. 

According to the Discipline Revolution Project, punitive policies “have negative consequences for all students,” and are “associated with negative student outcomes.” The project has found that exclusionary practices have damaging impacts on student performance, participation, and overall motivation to be involved in the school environment. INDEPTH’s educational approach changes this. 

“At Liberty we hear a lot about kids vaping, whether it’s at school or outside,” says Diya Kandula ‘26. “It’s nice to hear that there are options being given by the school to help them, instead of punishing them and driving any addictions further.”