DOE moving to comply
with school smoking ban
The state Department of Education will make custodians and cafeteria workers -- whose union contract allows them to smoke at schools -- subject to a federal law that prohibits smoking on campuses.
The move is in response to recent pressure from the federal government to comply with the Pro-Children Act or face penalties, and is the result of a Big Island woman's two-year struggle to rid school campuses of smoking.
On Monday the DOE plans to notify United Public Workers members employed at schools that they will be prohibited from smoking on campuses beginning April 12, spokesman Greg Knudsen said yesterday.
Under their contract, which expires next year, the workers are allowed to smoke at certain designated indoor areas on school campuses.
"Federal law has always prevailed," Knudsen said. "We're seeking an absolute ban on smoking anywhere on campus, indoors or outdoors."
In a letter dated last Monday, the U.S. Department of Education gave state Schools Superintendent Pat Hamamoto 15 days to detail "the steps your agency will put in place immediately" to comply with the federal law.
"We were given 15 (days)," Knudsen said, "but we are taking more immediate action."
He said the Education Department has contacted the union about the planned ban. Officials from UPW have not responded to the department and could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Meanwhile, a bill to ban smoking on school campuses is moving through the Legislature and is set to be heard this afternoon by the Senate's Education Committee.
The same bill was stalled in the Legislature last year because of concerns over breaking the UPW contract.
"I was surprised that the issue was not having a healthy environment on school campuses," said Big Island resident Chris Dein-Gaughen. "The issue was whether children's health was more or less important than accommodating the employee's addiction to tobacco."
Dein-Gaughen has been pushing the state to stop smoking on school campuses for more than two years, after seeing a custodian smoking in front of a child.
She contacted the U.S. Education Department last year about workers smoking on school campuses, and moved legislators to draft bills to ban the practice.
"It's been amazing," Dein-Gaughen said, "that the federal law has been overlooked by the state of Hawaii."