Two students at Butler Senior High School were taken to the hospital Tuesday when they “allegedly used vape pens and had adverse reactions.“

District superintendent Brian White sent a letter to parents and guardians of high school students following the incident, asking them to reinforce the dangers of vaping to their children. He said vaping devices may also contain additional substances which can be harmful to their users.

Like smoking or illicit drug use, students are not permitted to vape on campus, as per the student code of conduct. White also emphasized the negative effects of vaping in his email by listing several possible health risks.

“The bottom line is vaping places your child at risk,” White wrote. “Butler Area School District is one of approximately 50 Pennsylvania school districts that have sued JUUL and other vape providers to hold them accountable for their actions.”

Administrators have been working to quell behavioral issues at the high school since the beginning of the school year, and White said the implementation of a new after-school intervention program has helped.

Senior high school co-principal John Wyllie said at Monday’s meeting that 34 of the school’s 2,003 students had six or more referrals for rule violations by November. The intervention program was created as a way to keep the small percentage of students earning a majority of the referrals from affecting other students.

“So far, that seems to be going pretty well for us in the sense that it's up and running,” White said. “The number of physical disruptions we've had has dropped dramatically.”

The intervention program also can address violations related to the use of illicit substances by students, and White said enforcement is up to the school board’s discretion.

“The board can assign kids an educational plan through a disciplinary hearing if they violate the student code of conduct,” White said. “It depends on the kid and the circumstances.”