No Fun in the Sun

Jesse Michener, a freelance photographer, parted with her three children as they attended school on Thursday morning.  It was raining when the children left their home but around noon sunshine was in the forecast.  Michener knew that her children would be attending a field day at the school but since it had been raining did not think to cover her girls in sunscreen or that they would still be able to hold the event.  However, the school did hold the event and two of her children came back home badly burned. 

Michener took photos of her children's burns and posted them to her blog writing, "My children indicated that several adults commented on their burns at school, including staff and other parents.  One of my children remarked that their teacher used sunscreen in her presence and that it was 'just for her.' So, is this an issue of passive, inactive supervision? Where is the collective awareness for student safety?"

To make matters worse Michener's her youngest daughter Zoe, age 9, reportedly has a form of Albinism that her teachers and the school has been made aware of through a 504 plan.  In response to Michener's question about safety and this being an act of passive, inactive supervision a Tacoma Public School spokesman Dan Voelpel told Yahoo!Shine:

"that the school district's sunscreen policy -- which forbids teachers from applying sunscreen to students, and only allows students to apply it to their own bodies if they have a doctor's note authorizing it -- is based on a statewide law." 

 

In fact, the school district has been asked by Michener to come up with a waiver agreement for parents to sign that would allow teachers to apply sunscreen to their children.  It is a similar agreement to that used in several daycare centers across the country. To read more on this story please go to the following link:

http://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/kids-come-home-school-bad-sunburns-responsible-172200498.html