Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
All it took to kill 16-year-old Simon Katz was a bite.
Simon was at his high school’s homecoming event last September in Littleton, Colorado when he took a bite of s’mores that unknowingly contained peanut butter, according to CBS News. Within minutes, he was entering anaphylactic shock and didn’t have an EpiPen with him because he was in a friend’s car.
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Simon’s father found out about what happened and rushed his son to the hospital. By the time they got there, CPR was performed but it wasn’t enough to have saved Simon’s life.
The school district Simon attended didn’t have a policy in place at the time to protect students who suffer severe food allergies.
The Bristol Township School District is looking to prevent similar a incident in their community after having what officials call a “life-threatening event” earlier this school year.
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In a letter, the district has told parents snacks and foods in the classroom are no longer allowed. The decision has upset some parents and even caused them to launch a petition to allow some foods into the classroom. The prohibition includes foods that would have usually been brought into the classroom for holiday parties.
“We’re just really concerned about safety,” School Board President Angela Nober said.
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Regina Jones, district coordinator of health services, said she understands that parents want their kids to have a snack and to be able to bring treats in but the district has to look out for all children, including ones with life-threatening allergies.
“I have four kids. I understand. I really do,” Jones told parents at Monday’s school board meeting.
Parents have raised concerns about the amount of time their young children are going without a snack during the school day. Some have pointed to a lack of snacks as contributing to children losing focus during the school day.
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The district is currently working at the elementary school level to adjust the lunch schedule so no child has to go without food for more than a few hours.
While parents have offered several compromises, district administrators said they just can’t take the risk. They pointed to several other states that have laws prohibiting outside snacks and treats inside their buildings due to food allergies, which have been on the rise across the nation.
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A video was shown during the school board meeting that explained how food allergies can impact students and showed images of students who died due to having an allergic reaction at school.
The district has seen an uptick in the number of EpiPens it keeps for students due to the increasing number of kids allergic to various foods, Jones said.
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A petition to allow some foods into classrooms is being circulated online as has over 600 signatures as of Thursday night.
Nober and Jones said the district is working toward a solution that makes everyone happy.
