Vaping has become enough of a problem in the Kingston City School District that district officials have determined that exterior doors of student bathrooms at Kingston High School (KHS) should remain open at all times.
The subject of bathroom privacy in relation to the move was broached by a student representative to the board of education during a meeting held on Wednesday, September 24.
“I know there’s been changes with bathroom doors being kept open in the high school for vaping and as a prohibitive way to try to stop it more,” said Sophia Collier, a KHS senior. “But people have been feeling a lack of privacy. There have been reports of students peeking into the bathrooms; people have just felt unsafe with that kind of atmosphere, and it hasn’t been a huge deterrent for vaping, I don’t think…I think the taking away the feeling of privacy and safety in the bathroom doesn’t really make it worth it.”
Trustee Marc Rider clarified that doors on individual bathroom stalls are closable; it’s the doors that separate hallways and the bathrooms themselves that are left open.
“We experience it in our daily lives,” Rider said. “You go to an airport, you go to many other schools, they’re all open barrier doors.”
Fellow trustee Erika Bernabei said that bathrooms are already a sensitive subject for many students, particularly those in potentially vulnerable groups.
“We know that our trans and non-binary students already have sensitivities around bathrooms,” said Bernabei. “Anything that prevents students from being comfortable enough to use bathrooms is something we really have to pay attention to. Of course, it impacts all students, nobody wants to be snooped on in the bathroom…But on top of that, we have that other consideration. If it prevents any student from being comfortable enough to go into the bathroom, it’s a reason enough to deal with it in a quick way.”
District Superintendent Paul Padalino emphasized that the reason for the doors being open is that some students are vaping in the restrooms, which as recently as two days earlier caused an evacuation due to alarms being set off, which can be both disruptive and potentially dangerous.
“This happened on Monday morning,” Padalino said. “There are more than 2,000 people who are put in danger every time because you have to evacuate that building. Students who go into the bathroom and vape and set off the fire alarm are endangering the welfare of 2,000 individuals in that building…It seems silly, right? You’re like, ‘Well, it’s a fire drill. I just go outside.’ It’s not silly…It’s simple as falling down the stairs.”
Padalino added that alarms going off don’t just disrupt and endanger the lives of people in schools, they also tie up community emergency services.
“We’re dispatching the fire department, so we’re using resources of the city that they need — maybe they need to be somewhere else that’s actually much more important than the student’s vape,” Padalino said. “I know the conversation around the doors is one thing, but our number-one issue is that immediate threat of danger and the safety for our students.”
Padalino asked the school board’s student representatives to help think about ways to convince their fellow classmates that vaping on campus is not acceptable.
“School is not the place to vape,” he said. “We can’t control whether you vape or not, but school isn’t the place to do it because that is what happens.”
Just weeks into the 2025-26 school year, Padalino said this has happened multiple times at Kingston High. Trustee Anthony Fitzpatrick was surprised by this revelation.
“It doesn’t seem possible,” he said. “What vaping is is that it’s heated up at a temperature that is lower than combustion…When you vape, there’s not smoke.”
Most smoke alarms are designed to detect smoke particles from burning materials, while vaping produces aerosolized liquid. But some vape devices produce a dense enough vapor that, particularly in enclosed spaces like bathrooms, can resemble smoke. Some vapes produces chemicals or particulate matter that can potentially trigger smoke detectors.
Padalino said that with multiple issues in the few weeks school has been open, the detectors at Kingston High are clearly particularly sensitive. He acknowledged that keeping the bathroom doors open as a deterrent many not be the optimal solution to the problem, and may in fact cause other issues.
“I understand the privacy thing,” he said. “But I think the intentions are, ‘This is a serious problem we have in the high school, and how can we solve it?’”
One deterrent district officials are hoping will make an impact is consequences depending upon frequency of use and what comes of vape use.
“There’s a level-three violation, which is usually a five-day suspension, and they’re referred to a superintendents’ hearing, which could increase their suspension beyond five days,” Padalino said. “Just having a vape doesn’t put you in that situation, but using the vape, and setting off the fire alarm (may).”
Padalino said that the district tries to dissuade students from vaping altogether, including their addictive properties and impact on health. But, at least as far as on campus use, he said consequences may also help.
“I mean, we catch them every time,” he said. “Well, mostly every time.”
Join the family! 
