TUPE - Tobacco Free Policy

Research suggests that school policies prohibiting tobacco use, when consistently enforced, are an essential part of lowering teen tobacco use rates. In accordance with California Assembly Bill ABX2-9, all LEAs that receive TUPE funding must adopt and enforce a tobacco-free campus policy.

Tobacco-Free School District Certification

All TUPE-funded LEAs are required to maintain their Tobacco-Free School District Certification by providing documentation to their County TUPE Coordinator every three years and being certified by CDE. TUPE-funded COEs submit their documentation directly to CDE.

Applicants for TUPE funding must have been certified by CDE as having met the tobacco-free school district criteria. This certification must be valid at least through July 1 of the year of application.

Documentation required for certification includes the following:

Board-approved policies (with accompanying enforcement procedures) that:

Prohibit the use of tobacco and nicotine-containing products, including vaping devices
Address use in buildings, properties, and vehicles leased or owned by the LEA
Address use by staff, students, visitors, and civic-use/joint-use permit holders

A memo of assurance from the Superintendent or approved designee that the policy will be implemented and enforced
Photographs of the required permanent signage posted at entrances to LEA properties stating “Tobacco Use is Prohibited”
Written descriptions of how the policy is communicated to students, families, staff, and the community, and how cessation support programs are promoted

If the documentation is satisfactory, the County TUPE Coordinator secures it for recordkeeping and submits a Certification Form to CDE for approval. COEs submit documentation and a Certification Form for direct approval by CDE.

Public Health Law Center

The Public Health Law Center supports commercial tobacco control policy change and the commercial tobacco control movement throughout the United States, developing resources on the most effective legal and policy measures that health leaders and policymakers can use to control the epidemic of commercial tobacco use in the United States and abroad.

Public Health Law Center -
Commercial Tobacco-Free K-12 School Model Policy