Board hears proposal to bring 'Catch My Breath' vaping-prevention lessons to fifth and sixth graders

The Fountain Hills Unified School District governing board heard a presentation from the Fountain Hills Coalition seeking permission to offer the evidence-based Catch My Breath vaping-prevention curriculum to fifth- and sixth-grade students before the end of the semester. The coalition representative said the program is supported by a federal grant and endorsed by the Maricopa County Health Department.

The presenter described the curriculum as four lessons of roughly 35 minutes each and said the grant requires anonymous pre- and post-program surveys to measure effectiveness. "Catch My Breath is an evidence based youth nicotine vaping prevention program," the presenter said. Superintendent Dr. Jay told the board the district population for those grades is small—"we're talking fifth grade, sixth grade is a 100 kids"—and that the district can manage distribution and collection logistics.

Board members asked whether the program would cost the district (the presenter said it would not) and raised repeated questions about parental consent and data collection. One board member noted a potential legal requirement and cited "Arizona revised statute 15 dash 1 17" in asking whether surveys must be opt-in. Dr. Jay responded that the district will review legal requirements and handle parent notification and forms; he said staff will "double check, triple check" compliance before materials are sent.

The presenter said surveys would be anonymous, optional and used only to report aggregate outcomes to meet grant requirements; the coalition will provide sample parent letters and an opt-out form. Board members asked for confirmation in board minutes that the program had previously been approved when offered in prior years, and the presenter said the curriculum had been used before and updated to reflect changes in vaping products and marketing.

This item was presented for information and discussion; the board did not take a formal vote on program adoption at this meeting. Next steps identified by the presenters and superintendent include legal review of consent requirements, refinement of parent communication and scheduling logistics for classroom delivery.