And when the kids go back to school, they better not take any Tylenol with them, either. Or Aloe Vera!!
Policies like this don't protect the kids, they protect the idiot teachers and administrators from potential litigation.

Once again I'm reminded on some lines from Walter Miller's great novel A Canticle for Leibowitz:

:To minimize suffering and to maximize security were natural and proper ends of society and Caesar. But then they became the only ends, somehow, and the only basis of law—a perversion. Inevitably, then, in seeking only them, we found only their opposites: maximum suffering and minimum security."

My most recent post: Wolf Among Wolves

Another one to add to the compilation of bureaucratic stupidity.

I wonder what would happen if a kid collapses with an allergic reaction and the teacher has an epi-pen in their hand, but no prescription for the kid. Is the teacher going to let the kid die?

Idiotic school rules aside, it's mentioned the daughter has some form of albinism and burns easily so surely the mother bears some responsibility at protecting her children in the first place, like a doctor's note allowing use of sunscreen (and no you don't need an appointment for simple forms like this to be filled out or they can be obtained at regular check-ups). The pictures show burns with tank top lines, which again is clearly not smart for a child with such a condition to wear (and in other random idiocy, the post said it was rainy and cloudy that morning so not weather appropriate either). She stated the kids can't wear hats at school yet someone posted the school handbook there which shows they can wear hats outside. The mother just wants to shift as much blame as possible here for what happened. If your child has albinism and the school requires a doctor's note to use sunscreen, which would clearly be needed several times a day every day, you get one!!! I think the policy is idiotic to begin with, but you take responsibility and do what is necessary to meet your own special needs.

like a doctor's note allowing use of sunscreen (and no you don't need an appointment for simple forms like this to be filled out or they can be obtained at regular check-ups). -- BunnyGirl at June 24, 2012 6:18 AM

BG, I'm going to take the role of your employer:

I make a rule that workers at an open air fruit stand are required to have a doctor's note or prescription to use sunscreen or any medicine.

Also if you forget your medicine (whether OTC or prescription) no one, management or otherwise, can provide it to you. They can use it in front of you for themselves.

You are succumbing to the fallacy that a person needs a doctor's note to realize they stubbed their toe and shouldn't go running today. Or that a person went out in the sun and got burned in the past and that sun screen helps prevent that for themselves and their children. I don't need a doctor to tell me that. I shouldn't need a doctor (or note/scrip) to tell that to some bureaucrat that supposedly has a college degree and should be looking to the best interests of the children in their care.

Add another to the "sending your children to public school is tantamount to child abuse" files.

These rules aren't about liability, they are about the fact that the bulk of public school teachers are bottom quintile intellects given the responsibility for something they ought not be responsible for.

You can thank the higher education establishment and the public employee unions for this state of affairs.

Incidentally, Medicaid loooooves these stupid prescription rules. Medicaid patients *do* routinely get told they must make an appointment (if they've forgotten to ask/didn't know they needed them at the well-child check) rather than simply picking up a note from the receptionist. But then, it's not just a note, either---they actually issue prescriptions that you take to the pharmacist to have filled, and a pharmacy label with the patient's name is slapped onto a bottle of Tylenol, sunscreen, Cetaphil lotion, or Dr. Bordeaux's Butt Paste (a truly subpar diaper rash cream that I've never seen anyone actually buy on purpose). For these, the parent of course pays nothing but his/her wasted time (what? It's not like we want these working poor people/foster parents to get jobs or nothing...let em hang around the doctor's office and the pharmacy) and the pharmacy charges Medicaid (read: the taxpayers, you and me) $15 for a bottle of sunscreen, diaper rash cream, lotion or Tylenol that would've cost a third of that if the parent had paid out of pocket. And many schools do insist that there must be a pharmacy label; a bottle of sunscreen or Tylenol and a note from my family doctor stating "Jenny B's children, Huey Dewey and Louie may all use this as directed" won't do. Each must have his/her own and it must be from the pharmacy.

Really, the school should've called the parents and told them to bring sunscreen (or send a friend/neighbor/grandma to do it), held the kids inside until they were properly protected. Even that's a little much, but it would cover the school's ass and keep the kids safe.

Policies like this don't protect the kids, they protect the idiot teachers and administrators from potential litigation.

Posted by: DrCos

Which is why people shhould sue when these 'anti litigation' policys injure kids.

I'd demand the school reimburse me for the hospital visit.

Better yet, hows about shools arent responsible for what your kids choose to do, or ingest, to themselves, only for their education and physical protection from other students.

Hmmm! $110 for a doctor visit? Might the school have a deal with the local physicians? Follow the money. But if I was on that school board, I'd prepare to get blown away in court. They deserve it.

These rules aren't about liability, they are about the fact that the bulk of public school teachers are bottom quintile intellects given the responsibility for something they ought not be responsible for. -- brian at June 24, 2012 8:11 AM

I am going to have to take some exception to this. My ex-GF is now a school teacher. She is quite intelligent. As an example she dumped me. ;-) Another example has been the droves that left the Wisconsin NEA once the Act 10 provision that prohibited employers from automatically deducting membership dues from employee paychecks.

I do agree, in general, that to be a school administrator requires a lobotomy, but I ask you to show a little discretion when you are wielding a broad brush of tar.

It may to be the fault of that particular school. In our state, it's actual state-wide law that schools are not allowed to give out anything other than bandaides, and only prescription meds with a written order from TWO physicians with specific, step by step instructions on administration.

So, yeah, I slather my kids up every morning, put the sunscreen in their bags with instructions to them to put it on. So stupid.

They'll hand out condoms at our local highschool, but they wont give a kid Tylenol or Benadryl.

Tanorexic Mom takes kid to tanning booth = $5200 fine
Children get sun poisoning on school field trip = Not the school's problem

"Best interest of the child"... crucially germane (except when trumped by best interest of the state.)

Where was this field trip, the face of the sun?

Complete and total idiocy. When my kids were in marching band, they were told to bring bottled water and sunscreen to practice, which began in mid-August. Almost eveyone had some, and those who didn't borrowed from the others. I can't think of anything more idiotic than to require a prescription for sunscreen. Well, yeah I can, but many others have beaten me to it. Zero-tolerance policies that are totally voic of common sense, for one. Simply stupid.

Where I work all you have to do is call or email the doctor for a note stating the need for whatever "medication" is needed. There is no appointment or charge. You then either come down and pick it up or wait for it to be mailed. Where I was going with this is that if she has albinism she needs to apply sunscreen multiple times a day everyday regardless of intent to be outside and this would mean during school as well. So stupid policy or not, there should have already been a note on file for this to happen. And it's stupid if the mother to state they didn't put any on in the morning because it was cloudy and would have worn off before she went outside. So because it wears off she shouldn't bother at all. It also sounded like she knew full well they had that outside field day going on but made no arrangements to accommodate her child's special needs. Both parent and school bear responsibility here. If your child is asthmatic you have to fill out the forms to have an inhaler at school to use and then provide the inhaler, not just do nothing at all and bitch and threaten to sue when your child has a severe asthma attack.

I do think it's ridiculous that all these rules and regulations are there to begin with, but it's not like she didn't know they existed or that her daughter had a special condition. You can't just ignore rules in place to allow for your special needs and then bitch when something happens. Hell, the mother even said she didn't send her ever so delicate off in the morning with sunscreen because it was cloudy out in the morning!!!

It's unfortunate she got a sunburn, but it's not solely the school's fault here.

Both parent and school bear responsibility here. Bunnygirl

I don't know if you are a parent but sometimes you put your child in the care of another adult and with that is the implicit understanding that that adult will act in the best interests of the child. Not in their best interests.

As a parent you can't anticipate every contingency and sometimes you do make mistakes. You expect the adult in charge of your child not to act in indifference to the child's needs.

I wonder how much of this zero-tolerance-we-can't-touch-your-kid policy making is the direct result of helicopter parents bringing up frivolous lawsuits against schools in the first place.

You reap what you sow.

According to the original poster, the school does not allow children to wear hats. Also the daughter with Albinism has a 504 filed with the school so I'm unsure what else the parents could do to protect against this idiocy.

What I want to know is if the school/district notified the parents that: 1. the children need a doctors prescription for sunscreen before this activity. and 2. what the procedure is once the prescription is acknowledged.

And unless things have changed since I was a child, any child can go to a store and buy sunscreen without a parents permission.

If this were me, I'd sue. Not for monetary damages but to clarify the policy and to ensure that other children are not hurt. In my opinion the school by being so passive aggressively stupid has set themselves up for a lawsuit.

Hopefully the school will take heed and change their policy to one that is not so idiotic.

I suspect the school is going to respond with, "But we have rules!" Like that makes this better. Stupid rules are stupid.

Janet, the school handbook was linked on her blog page by a commenter. It states that hats are allowed outside. She's just never been bothered to read the school rules/policies apparently.

It's unfortunate she got a sunburn, but it's not solely the school's fault here.

Posted by: BunnyGirl at June 24, 2012 9:43 AM

Yes, yes it is. Its called in loco parentis and since the schools fought to get it, they're the parents now when the kids are on school grounds (and sometimes not on school property). They're at fault. Its a public school right? The government mandates by law that you attend schooling and its a government school on top of that (payment compelled through taxes). They're responsible.

Stop supporting the bureacratic mentality. Also, what the rule book says and whats enforced are two different things.

don't feel bad about the high cost of insurance nowadays, its justified by the greed of the HCP's...
i spent 10+ years being RX'd a med i didn't need and making monthly/biweekly visits to the only stinco approved clinic in our town...
between rewriting the RX every 2 to 4 weeks, and the blood tests, and the followups, my insco was getting azzraped every month for unneeded meds and appointments, and every little tack-on the clinic could come up with...
my current doctor is tearing his hair out trying to undo the damage cause by a decade + of unneeded medications...
oh, btw, no one will investigate because the clinic "serves the minority community"...
all of whom are getting medi*** or similar freebies...
you figure it out...
as for the do nothing schools and teachers, hey thats nothing, wait until you get arrested for any little thing in this state and try to get your needed meds while in custody, no way in hell, you WILL die first(as many have)...
nope, everything is out of whack anymore...
stupidity is the only constant...

"Tanorexic Mom takes kid to tanning booth = $5200 fine. Children get sun poisoning on school field trip = Not the school's problem."

Nice connection Robert - I hope this gets a wider audience.

Possible wisdom for readers could result.

It's only a matter of time before these idiot school administrators or teachers let a child die through their absolute ignorance, lack of the tiniest bit of common sense, or having anything remotely resembling the intelligence the gods gave a treestump.
This is another story about an asthmatic boy. His principal seized his inhaler which was in its unopened, clearly marked as his packaging, but they had misplaced his paperwork. Nevermind that they had it from previous years. The kid has an attack, goes to the nurse, who proceeds to refuse to give him his inhaler, and then STANDS there and watchs as he loses conciousness! She does not call 911, hell, she even walks out and LOCKS the door and watches the kid through the window!
http://news.yahoo.com/school-nurse-denies-inhaler-watches-student-lose-consciousness-183100040.html

@Kat... i rest my case... perfect example..

The school will let a kid burn before they let her use an over-the-counter sunscreen without a prescription. In the same state the schools facilitate abortions and birth control pills (encourage, make appointments, provide transportation, and allow any related medications) for school girls without the slightest regard for the parents or input/feedback from the girl's own primary physician.

All I know is that if I were that poor boy's mother, they would have had to pry my hands from that "nurse's' throat with a crowbar.
"Oh, you like it when people can't breath? Maybe blue is your favorite color? How about you try it and then tell me how you like it, bitch!"

If the school my daughter attends ever pulled a stunt like that, they had better _pray_ for a lawsuit, and for them to lose big. Because that's really the best outcome for the people involved.

If I win big on a lawsuit I might stop there.

No parent should go through that horror, no child should be treated with such .... I don't even have words to describe such despicable behavior by someone who is supposedly trained in the CARE of CHILDREN.

I hope that there is an afterlife, and that it has a very special, extremely unpleasant and all around nasty place for people like this. There is no excuse for anyone to hurt a child, ever, period. Or to let a child come to harm if it is within your ability to help them.

This is why I took my younger daughter out of brick-and-mortar school, and went with an online high school at home. She was bullied, they did nothing. She was beat up, I sent her to Aikido classes, she defended herself. *She* was suspended. I asked them why, got the zero tolerance bs, and told them to stuff it and left. Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention, she's supposedly one of their "favored" minority groups, she came out when she was in middle school, but all that did was paint a target on her in BIG bright red circles. So much for that GLBT Teen Tolerance club, huh?

I lost a child to SIDS, so maybe I tend to froth a bit at the mouth when someone threatens my girls, but if we as parents are *not* protective of our children, what good are we? Not the little day to day kid stuff that they all have happen. "Mom! She's touching me!". But in these kinds of truly debilitating or even life-threatening instances, I believe that I should be willing to do whatever it takes to protect my children, I would kill for them, and I would die for them, because my daughters mean more to me than my own life.

The mom dropped the ball here.

A kid with albinism should not be dressed in a tank top. Plus, they should be taught to self-advocate from an early age "I am not supposed to go into the sun. I burn easily. It is in my 504 plan." even a first grade child could remember that. Like teaching a kid with a peanut allergy not to share peanut butter sandwiches.

Magic words. - "it is in my 504."

My son just graduated high school. He had a 504 for his ADHD but he had to work with the school on it's implementation. They do not remember every child's 504 and all the limitations and accommodations.

The parent/advocate needs to be aware of what is going on, like field days (in this instance) and prepare the child: with clothes, sunscreen or a reminder to stay out of the sun or to let the teacher know about the problem.

@V@4:34pm @Kat@5:03pm
http://www.startribune.com/local/160197995.html
see, what did i say earlier... follow the money...

Seattleite checking in...

-The girl is old enough to self advocate.
-Our weather can change within minutes...overcast in the am does not mean overcast all day, esp in the summer.
-It is possible to burn on an overcast day. Has happened to me many times...I'm a redhead.
-It is the end of the school year...surely the parent has been in close contact with the teacher and nurse over this issue over the course of the year. I know I certainly would have been.
-Having done both medical paging and pharmacy inventory, I am well aware of the mentality of people who want to have taxpayers pay for things like Nix, Tylenol, and sunscreen. These are the very people you are against, Amy. The people who don't want to pay for your own health care. So...the school didn't even drop the ball imho, as the irresponsible parent didn't even give them the ball to begin with.

Hi Snoosnoo!
I am also a redheaded Washingtonian. I'm nearer Vancouver though.

I cover up year round because I can burn in the winter time with heavy cloud cover.

Snoosnoo, you said the girl is old enough to self-advocate and she is. She did---she asked her teacher, who was applying sunscreen to herself, for some of that sunscreen. The teacher said it was only for her. What she is not old enough to do is be completely responsible for preventing injury to herself. That's what teachers acting in loco parentis and parents are for. Really, that's what any decent adult nearby is for.

I do think it's strange that if there is a 504 for the girls' albinism, there isn't sunscreen and a hat and one of those special SPF-treated-but-lightweight long-sleeve shirts in the nurse's office. What's the *point* of having a 504 otherwise?

I do think that the parents should have sent the girls to school with sunscreen in their bags. If they weren't given time in class to put sunscreen on, or if sunscreen were banned (which would again be stupid) the girls should've been instructed by their parents to get a bathroom pass, put the sunscreen in their pocket and take it to the bathroom and apply it there. So, yes, the parents made a completely normal, common, shit-happens mistake. The adults nearby, especially those being paid to supervise the children, noticed the girls were being burnt and didn't do anything. They could've shared their sunscreen, or (if they were afraid that the girls might be allergic to it or something) they could've taken the girls out of the sun, and called the parents and either asked "Can your daughter have some of my Aveeno sunscreen or is she allergic to it?" or said "Hey, it looks like you forgot to send sunscreen with your daughter. Come bring some so she can play outside with her friends."

Geesh. Common sense. It doesn't take a degree to realize that when you see a kid getting burned, you need to do something about it. Likewise, if the day started out warm, then dipped to below freezing, and you saw that the kids didn't all have coats, or that some kids were wearing flip-flops, you wouldn't let those kids without proper shoes or coats go outside for recess or an outdoor field trip. You'd either keep them in or call the parents and tell them to bring proper attire---these are elementary kids, here.

Bad sunburn can kill a person. I hope she sues the school or files charges against them (don't know for what, but this must surely be illegal).

I can see this happening to my kids. They have a medical condition called blonde hair and blue eyes. I don't always remember everything when I'm rushing to get out the door. Also I think the issue is that the kids weren't allowed to bring their own sunblock.