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Morgan County Schools to ban metal bottles and cups due to contraband concerns
Starting Feb. 16, Morgan County Schools will ban metal water bottles to enhance safety after students were caught hiding vapes inside them.
MORGAN COUNTY, Tenn — Starting Feb. 16, 2026, metal water bottles and cups will be banned from Morgan County Schools. It’s an issue that school leaders say boils down to safety, with contraband driving the change.
Morgan County Schools Director Jamie Pemberton spoke about the ban.
“The biggest thing so far that we’ve found in the cups has been vapes,” Pemberton said. “They (students) can put them in the cups and also put ice and things on top of them,” Pemberton said.
Pemberton said teachers check cups at metal detectors daily, but the setup has created backups.
“You know they’re having to go through and open up the, the cups and things so. That’s what, you know, it’s just not an efficient way to when we’re trying to screen that several 100 kids are coming in each morning,” Pemberton said.
Coalfield principal Tim Hines says he’s looking forward to the change.
“The less that we have to try to manage, look through or whatever, if we can see through clear items, I mean that makes it just so much more efficient,” Hines said.
Clear and out in the open. Parents like Sarah Hilf said that visibility brings peace of mind.
“I think this will eliminate a lot of problems that the school is having, and I think it really shined a light on how kids were bringing things in like vapes, so I think it’s a great thing for the schools and for parents and for kids,” Hilf said.
“Kids are the most precious thing that we have in our communities, and it’s our goal to provide safety when they come into our buildings each day,” Pemberton said.
A clearer bottle and school leaders hope for a clearer path to safer schools. The ban will also include any school-sponsored event, like athletics.
