Parents of Point Defiance Elementary School children were horrified after their kids were severely burnt on field day. State law prohibits use of sunscreen at the school unless the students have a doctor’s note.
The kids were so burnt they required medical attention.
KATU reported, via Orbusmax:
Jesse Michener was horrified Tuesday evening when she returned home from work to find two of her three daughters severely sunburned after field day at Point Defiance Elementary School.
It was raining when the girls left for school Tuesday morning, but the sun came out midday and ended up burning Violet and Zoe so severely that their mother took them to Tacoma General Hospital that evening.
Tacoma Public Schools policy prohibits teachers from putting sunscreen on students.
Students can apply their own, but are required to have a doctor’s note authorizing them to use it.
District spokesman Dan Voelpel says the doctor’s note policy is actually based on a statewide law, and is aimed at preventing kids from sharing sunscreen with someone who might have an allergy. He says there are many students in the district with allergies to common additives in sunscreens and lotions.
Parents are encouraged to apply sunscreen before sending their children to school, or dress them appropriately for sunny weather.