Palmyra, Missouri School District Considers Peanut Ban

The Palmyra, Missouri school board is considering a ban on peanuts in the schools. The debate arose at a Board of Education meeting in which the mother of a student with a severe peanut allergy plead for the ban.

According to Beth Wilson, her son – a second-grader in the Palmyra school district – cannot eat peanuts or even inhale their dust. According to Beth, he suffered three allergic reactions in the past school year, including one reaction caused by a child seated at the same lunch table who was eating a granola bar containing peanut butter.

In asking the school board to ban peanuts, she said “I feel that my son is not safe at school as long as peanut butter is allowed.” Responding to the argument that such a ban would be too inconvenient, she said “No reports of inconvenience to a parent are going to make me want a student to learn about peanut allergies from the death of my son.”

Cafeterias in the district's schools do not currently serve peanut products, but children are still allowed to bring them from home. The district's policy requires students eating peanut products to sit at a table apart from peanut-sensitive students and to wash their hands after lunch. That policy was recently enacted, after Wilson's son had two allergy attacks in a single week.

While the Board of Education did not act on the recent request, it is expected to discuss it next month. Board member Susan Gard questioned how the ban would be enforced, suggesting that it would be impractical to check every student's lunch. Superintendent Eric Churchwell and other board members stated that education about the variety of products that contain peanut ingredients is the key to making the school safe for students with peanut allergies. Palmyra Elementary School principal Sharon Underwood also noted that self-awareness among those with food allergies is also important so that they can take steps to avoid the allergen.

Is your school district peanut free? Read more about the recent debate here: http://www.whig.com/story/news/Palmyra-School-Board-061511