Where is the common sense in this? I understand the allergy concern, I have family members with food allergies. The Principle says it comes down to safety and liability. Yes, we do live in a society where people sue each other at the drop of a hat, which is sad. This is not the world of Sheriff Andy, Opie Taylor, Aunt Bea, Barney and school teacher Helen Crump!
A 13-year-old California boy was reportedly placed in detention for sharing a school-prepared lunch with another student.
Kyle Bradford, a student at Weaverville Elementary School in Weaverville, Calif., was disciplined after sharing his chicken burrito with a friend who didn’t like the cheese sandwich he was given by the cafeteria, according to reports.
“It seemed like he couldn’t get a normal lunch so I just wanted to give mine to him because I wasn’t really that hungry and it was just going to go in the garbage if I didn’t eat it,” Bradford said.
The Trinity Alps Unified School District, however, has rules that prohibit students from sharing food — claiming that students can have allergies their classmates may not be aware of.
The policies set by the district say that students can have allergies that another student may not be aware of.
“We have a policy that prohibits students from exchanging meals. Of course if students are concerned about other students not having enough to eat we would definitely want to consider that, but because of safety and liability we cannot allow students to actually exchange meals,” Tom Barnett, the Superintendent of the Trinity Alps Unified School District, said.
This reminds me of all those times when I’ve said (or thought to myself) “gee, this is definitely not the country I grew up in anymore…” and unfortunately, in many respects, I was correct.