Parents picket school enforcing handicapped laws.

[Shalmooharej]

In Volusia County, Florida, parents of children at Edgewater Elementary School are demanding that one allergic girl withdraw from school, so that their children will not have to take such precautions as leaving their lunches outside or washing their hands before class. They argue that the time taken to enact these measures is stealing too much focus from their own children's learning, but the school is standing behind these measures, saying they're legally required to provide a safe environment for the first grader.

The Full Article Can Be Found Here.

So let me get this straight I have one minor food allergy to cherries, rather rare. Their seeds make me bloat like crazy instantly the fact that parents are picketing because their children are being Forced to wash their hands is frankly ridiculous I feel that it's smart to enforce hand washing as in high school I would say one in eight boys washed their hands on the way out of the bathroom, and only half flushed so Nationstates your thoughts?

[Lackadaisical2]

Hand washing is pretty much only useful after taking a shit, and not flushing a urinal is saving the environment.

"If its yellow, leave it mellow, if its brown, flush it downmaybe."

That said I rather dislike the handicapable, and the parent's concerns might be warranted- a proper analysis should be done of the disruption caused and if hiring a personal teacher would be better. Its not a minor allergy if you're getting bloated form the mere presence of something near you.

[Ifreann]

Obviously children won't be able to learn properly if they have clean hands and their lunches aren't in the classroom.

[The Atlantean Menace]

Yeah...If this girl really requires that much accommodation, she should be homeschooled.


Not just so people won't have to deal with her disability, but because I would not put anyone's well-being in the hands of a bunch of first graders.

[Shalmooharej]

Hand washing is pretty much only useful after taking a shit, and not flushing a urinal is saving the environment.

"If its yellow, leave it mellow, if its brown, flush it downmaybe."

That said I rather dislike the handicapable, and the parent's concerns might be warranted- a proper analysis should be done of the disruption caused and if hiring a personal teacher would be better. Its not a minor allergy if you're getting bloated form the mere presence of something near you.

Excuse me 'handicapable' your spelling alone shows signs of mental retardation. She's protected under the people's with disabilities act enacted under George Bush Sr.

[The Atlantean Menace]

Hand washing is pretty much only useful after taking a shit, and not flushing a urinal is saving the environment.

"If its yellow, leave it mellow, if its brown, flush it downmaybe."

That said I rather dislike the handicapable, and the parent's concerns might be warranted- a proper analysis should be done of the disruption caused and if hiring a personal teacher would be better. Its not a minor allergy if you're getting bloated form the mere presence of something near you.

Excuse me 'handicapable' your spelling alone shows signs of mental retardation.

Actually, I believe he was making a joke. "Handicapable" is one of the politically correct terms for disabled. Which, you know, almost no one uses. But it is, nonetheless, probably not just a typo.

[Noavak]

Yeah...If this girl really requires that much accommodation, she should be homeschooled.


Not just so people won't have to deal with her disability, but because I would not put anyone's well-being in the hands of a bunch of first graders.

^ This.

You can enforce it all you want but eventually there is going to be a slip-up with huge consequences, both health and financial. That girl could potentially die if not suffer a severe allergic reaction. Not to mention that school will probably be held responsible. Its in the best interest of all involved parties that the girl be home schooled.

[Katganistan]

Hand washing is pretty much only useful after taking a shit, and not flushing a urinal is saving the environment.

"If its yellow, leave it mellow, if its brown, flush it downmaybe."

That said I rather dislike the handicapable, and the parent's concerns might be warranted- a proper analysis should be done of the disruption caused and if hiring a personal teacher would be better. Its not a minor allergy if you're getting bloated form the mere presence of something near you.

Excuse me 'handicapable' your spelling alone shows signs of mental retardation. She's protected under the people's with disabilities act enacted under George Bush Sr.

That's called flaming, and it's not allowed here. Knock it off.

[Vortiaganica]

If you lived in Australia (don't know about American allergy awareness), you'd be aware that nut allergies, and some other allergies, cab sometimes kill within a few hours.

It's called anaphylaxis.

Slightly more than mild bloating.

It's a severe respiratory reaction. Basically, after eating the allergen, you seize up and can't breathe. It's quite distinctive, though, and Australia (Not America though) provides an advanced intensive care ambulance (MICA) for severe medical conditions, like anaphylaxis, on request through a 000 call, or for any anaphylaxis case.

Your article, however, seems to focus on a poll regarding the case, and not the case itself. Doesn't say much about the allergy.

[The Atlantean Menace]

Basically, after eating the allergen, you seize up and can't breathe. It's quite distinctive, though, and Australia (Not America though) provides an advanced intensive care ambulance (MICA) for severe medical conditions, like anaphylaxis, on request through a 000 call, or for any anaphylaxis case.

The issue here is that, by the sounds of it, she doesn't even have to eat peanuts for her to have an allergic reaction. Some people have allergies so severe that merely inhaling a tiny amount of the smell/dust/etc. from the allergen can cause this reaction. It's unreasonable to expect someone who is that sensitive to be safe in a public school. It would be ideal, but honestly it just isn't workable.

[Sociobiology]

if your that allergic you should get your own class just like students that are that retarded, excessive cleaning may actually cause non-food allergies by preventing children form getting worms, (which prime a specific part of the immune system meant to deal with parasitic worms)

[Vortiaganica]

Basically, after eating the allergen, you seize up and can't breathe. It's quite distinctive, though, and Australia (Not America though) provides an advanced intensive care ambulance (MICA) for severe medical conditions, like anaphylaxis, on request through a 000 call, or for any anaphylaxis case.

The issue here is that, by the sounds of it, she doesn't even have to eat peanuts for her to have an allergic reaction. Some people have allergies so severe that merely inhaling a tiny amount of the smell/dust/etc. from the allergen can cause this reaction. It's unreasonable to expect someone who is that sensitive to be safe in a public school. It would be ideal, but honestly it just isn't workable.

No, that sort of level of care is fairly common in Australia as well with lower school kids. In high school though, it's generally taken kids know how to handle themselves.

When something can kill you, you like to be careful with it.

It seems that Americans aren't very familiar with anaphylaxis.

[The Atlantean Menace]

The issue here is that, by the sounds of it, she doesn't even have to eat peanuts for her to have an allergic reaction. Some people have allergies so severe that merely inhaling a tiny amount of the smell/dust/etc. from the allergen can cause this reaction. It's unreasonable to expect someone who is that sensitive to be safe in a public school. It would be ideal, but honestly it just isn't workable.

No, that sort of level of care is fairly common in Australia as well with lower school kids. In high school though, it's generally taken kids know how to handle themselves.

When something can kill you, you like to be careful with it.

It seems that Americans aren't very familiar with anaphylaxis.

No, we are. The issue is that expecting a bunch of first graders to accommodate someone who could DIE from a tiny amount of peanut residue ten feet away from them is just unrealistic. The girl is sensitive enough that she should not be in public school, especially not at an age where her fellow students may not fully grasp the severity of the situation.

[Ragnarsdomr]

On the one hand, I can't understand what reasonable parent has issues with their children washing their hands.

On the other hand... oh, wait, I can't really see another hand. Regardless of whether or not the allergic person is supposedly only susceptible to their allergies from oral intake, there's still the risk of a reaction. So, giving basic procedures for cleanliness and organization regardless of the details seems to only make sense. If the child's allergies are serious enough that external contact could kill or severely scar her, then yes, she should be in a more controlled environment, but the school should still keep the policies regarding basic hygiene.

[Lackadaisical2]

Hand washing is pretty much only useful after taking a shit, and not flushing a urinal is saving the environment.

"If its yellow, leave it mellow, if its brown, flush it downmaybe."

That said I rather dislike the handicapable, and the parent's concerns might be warranted- a proper analysis should be done of the disruption caused and if hiring a personal teacher would be better. Its not a minor allergy if you're getting bloated form the mere presence of something near you.

Excuse me 'handicapable' your spelling alone shows signs of mental retardation. She's protected under the people's with disabilities act enacted under George Bush Sr.

I thought handicapable was the PC term, Mr.

So what if she is? Is/ought and so forth.

[Katganistan]

The issue here is that, by the sounds of it, she doesn't even have to eat peanuts for her to have an allergic reaction. Some people have allergies so severe that merely inhaling a tiny amount of the smell/dust/etc. from the allergen can cause this reaction. It's unreasonable to expect someone who is that sensitive to be safe in a public school. It would be ideal, but honestly it just isn't workable.

No, that sort of level of care is fairly common in Australia as well with lower school kids. In high school though, it's generally taken kids know how to handle themselves.

When something can kill you, you like to be careful with it.

It seems that Americans aren't very familiar with anaphylaxis.

Please don't make assumptions. I'm very well aware of it, and Epi-pens are not exactly unheard of in this country.

[Vortiaganica]

No, that sort of level of care is fairly common in Australia as well with lower school kids. In high school though, it's generally taken kids know how to handle themselves.

When something can kill you, you like to be careful with it.

It seems that Americans aren't very familiar with anaphylaxis.

No, we are. The issue is that expecting a bunch of first graders to accommodate someone who could DIE from a tiny amount of peanut residue ten feet away from them is just unrealistic. The girl is sensitive enough that she should not be in public school, especially not at an age where her fellow students may not fully grasp the severity of the situation.

It's the same system Australian schools have been using for years. The problem isn't the kids, it's the parents.

There's no question in Australian schools, because it's the norm, but suddenly American parents are complaining because they feel it's a disproportionate removal of rights to eat lunch outside and wash their hands compared to homeschooling or letting die kids with nut allergies.

This isn't a sensitivity thing, I'm willing to bet that she has anaphylaxis, in which case she would not be out of place in Australia. In America though, that's another story.

She's not unusual as a person, just as an American.

[Vortiaganica]

No, that sort of level of care is fairly common in Australia as well with lower school kids. In high school though, it's generally taken kids know how to handle themselves.

When something can kill you, you like to be careful with it.

It seems that Americans aren't very familiar with anaphylaxis.

Please don't make assumptions. I'm very well aware of it, and Epi-pens are not exactly unheard of in this country.

I was working off the OP's assumption that nut allergies 'cause slight bloating'.

That and compared to Australia, the US is slightly naive on allergies (Come on, pretty much everything here will kill you, we don't need peanuts too).

Although I'll admit I was probably slightly underestimating US knowledge, as I usually do.

[Zavea]

isn't it widely recommended for individuals with allergies that sensitive to avoid areas where there's a high chance of their "triggers" being present?

in that case, why even send them to school? the upkeep and hassle behind trying to sanitize it would rarely be worth the effort (good luck trying to get 100% of the student body to adhere to all of the protocols considering the massive trust factor behind all of it -- i don't think any school board would hire a security guard to stand in all of the bathrooms 7 hours a day to watch all the students that come in and out) especially since it's a public school where there are a million things and people passing in and out every day.

[Katganistan]

Please don't make assumptions. I'm very well aware of it, and Epi-pens are not exactly unheard of in this country.

I was working off the OP's assumption that nut allergies 'cause slight bloating'.

That and compared to Australia, the US is slightly naive on allergies (Come on, pretty much everything here will kill you, we don't need peanuts too).

Although I'll admit I was probably slightly underestimating US knowledge, as I usually do.

The US will not serve peanuts on flights because we are well aware of the dangers of nut allergies (well, really, an allergy to legumes. There are people who can eat tree nuts and not peanuts, and vice versa).
In many schools, peanut butter is banned outright for the same reason.
Please, again, don't make assumptions about our not knowing about nut allergies based on a few people being self-centered gits who think "too bad, it's her look-out."

[Vortiaganica]

isn't it widely recommended for individuals with allergies that sensitive to avoid areas where there's a high chance of their "triggers" being present?

in that case, why even send them to school? the upkeep and hassle behind trying to sanitize it would rarely be worth the effort (good luck trying to get 100% of the student body to adhere to all of the protocols) especially since it's a public school where there are a million things and people passing in and out every day.

Again, you underestimate children when faced with imminent death.

I can tell you by experience, children will not act like idiots when specifically told 'If he eats peanuts, he will die a very painful death.'

The problem is the parents not realizing how common a problem this is.

[Katganistan]

isn't it widely recommended for individuals with allergies that sensitive to avoid areas where there's a high chance of their "triggers" being present?

in that case, why even send them to school? the upkeep and hassle behind trying to sanitize it would rarely be worth the effort (good luck trying to get 100% of the student body to adhere to all of the protocols) especially since it's a public school where there are a million things and people passing in and out every day.

Children in the United States have a right to an education.
The school has an obligation to provide each student with that education and accommodate whatever medically-indicated needs they have.
You cannot simply bar a child from school because you feel other children may be inconvenienced by her being there.

[The ivain isles]

isn't it widely recommended for individuals with allergies that sensitive to avoid areas where there's a high chance of their "triggers" being present?

in that case, why even send them to school? the upkeep and hassle behind trying to sanitize it would rarely be worth the effort (good luck trying to get 100% of the student body to adhere to all of the protocols) especially since it's a public school where there are a million things and people passing in and out every day.

Children in the United States have a right to an education.
The school has an obligation to provide each student with that education and accommodate whatever medically-indicated needs they have.
You cannot simply bar a child from school because you feel other children may be inconvenienced by her being there.

Indeed, if that was the case, 90% of the kids would be illiterite, instead of our good standing of 80%.

[The Corparation]

Let anyone of the people protesting here legal right to be there have a look at a used epipen. Think about them not taking moderate precautions, and then think about jabbing the needle into some kid everytime someone brings in a PB+J and doesn't wash thir hands. Allergic reactions aren't a joking mater.

[Katganistan]

To be quite honest, if I were her parents and doctor, I would have a couple or three epi-pens left with the school nurse -- or teach the girl to do it herself if, god forbid, she gets a severe reaction.