West Aurora School District 129 has accepted a proposed monetary payout of approximately $271,000 minus any fees as part of a national mass-action lawsuit against electronic cigarette manufacturer Juul.
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The West Aurora School Board in December 2020 unanimously approved a resolution to join the lawsuit as a way to fight back against student vaping based on the health repercussions of the activity. The lawsuit alleged the company’s marketing campaign targeted young people.
The use of e-cigarettes among youth had become a “vaping crisis” with public schools on the “front line of fighting this epidemic,” district officials said.
In addition, student vaping had reached a level that was monopolizing faculty time, officials said.
“We spend an awful lot of time chasing things early to dissipate things that have not been beneficial to the world,” West Aurora Assistant Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith told the board.
The district was approached by an area law firm that specializes in education law with a proposal to join the national lawsuit. The district worked with Chicago-based Franczek P.C., which partnered with Frantz Law Group in San Diego, the firm that had initiated the lawsuit, she said.
As part of the legal challenge, the district in the spring of 2021 submitted data to demonstrate the impact student vaping has had on local schools, Smith said.
“We submitted data on the impact to our district by how many hours we spend and how many infractions we had,” she said.
The Federal Drug Administration in the summer of 2022 began to restrict the sale of Juul e-cigarettes, in particular the flavored cartridges, Smith said.
“Because Juul saw that coming and the potential lawsuits that were ahead, they announced in September 2022 that they had reached a settlement with 33 states including Illinois. Now we are at a point where we will see boards across the country begin to approve those settlements,” Smith said.
West Aurora was a “first-round filer” and as a result will receive a higher payout than those that filed later, Smith said.
Only a handful of Illinois school districts are eligible for a settlement, she said.
“This is one of the benefits of having multiple attorney relationships,” Smith said.
The district was informed it can expect to receive approximately $271,429 based on the district’s student population. The settlement will require attorney and deposition fees.
West Aurora could possibly receive the money as early as the start of next school year.
The district may end up receiving more than the announced amount, but definitely not less, she said.
“We may be eligible for additional funds,” Smith said.
There is a second lawsuit against the parent company of Juul. District officials believe that lawsuit will settle at a similar or higher amount than the first lawsuit, she said.
As for the settlement money, “there are no restrictions on how we spend those funds,” Smith said.
The district will probably devote the funds to programs supporting student safety and student-related issues, according to officials.
One proposal is to hold a vaping device turn-in program similar to a gun turn-in program.
“We would continue our anti-vaping education. We all know while this money is great, the long-term effects from a health standpoint is what is really going to cost this country significantly. If we can stop kids from vaping to begin with, it will help down the road,” Smith said.
In response to a question from School Board President Richard Kerns, Smith said e-cigarette vaping detection systems have been installed in the district but the best route to fighting vaping is to discourage kids from using the devices.
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“As quickly as they go off, kids leave and the (devices) are so easy to hide. It’s almost become like white noise,” Smith. “We might look at security and support staff. The best thing is for kids not to start vaping in the first place.”
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.