Angry mom calls for changes after students get sunburn at school
Jun 21, 2012, 5:32 AM | Updated: 2:25 pm
Violet, 11, is one of three sisters who was badly burned during this week's field day at their Tacoma elementary school. (Photo by their mom, Jesse Michener)
A Tacoma mother is seeing red after her kids came home
from school badly sunburned. She says their fair skin endured five hours of sun during a recent field day because Tacoma teachers are prohibited from applying sunscreen.
“There was a teacher putting sunscreen on herself…There
were other adults who remarked on the children getting
burnt, like ‘Wow, you’re so burnt’ and ‘Oh My God, look at your sunburn.’ Nobody took them out of the sun,” says Jesse Michener.
A spokesman for the Tacoma Public School District says the policy is to allow children to apply sunscreen themselves at school if they have a note from their doctor. Teachers and other school staff, under current policy, are not allowed to administer ointments or creams.
“I think it’s a little crazy that they can’t [apply
sunscreen]. I understand the situation though. If they do
it, they get in trouble, lawsuits and all of that,” said
97.3 KIRO FM’s Linda Thomas.
State law considers sunscreen an over-the-counter drug
like aspirin and prohibits students from sharing it.
The district says the policy is aimed at preventing kids from sharing sunscreen with others potentially allergic to common additives.
Michener said she had to take her kids to the
hospital to treat the burns. She admits she didn’t apply
sunscreen before sending them off Tuesday because it was a rainy morning. But she says common sense should have
prevailed.
In a discussion on 97.3 KIRO FM’s Seattle’s Morning
News, co-host Tom Tangney questions the practicality
of
the law, and everyone who let the kids roast in the sun
instead of doing anything about it.
“If they know they’re not allowed to put sunscreen on, and they see that a child is getting redder and redder, it’s the school’s responsibility to get them out of the sun.”
But Thomas argued that’s not always practical, especially
during outings such as her son’s field day at a local park taking place this week.
The district is considering a change in policy this summer that would allow teachers to administer sunscreen. They likely will not, however, get rid of the requirement for a note from the doctor.
