Mansfield Elementary Schools Ban Classroom Food

Mansfield elementary schools will no longer be able to have food items, such as cupcakes, pastries, confections, etc. at birthday celebrations in the upcoming 2011-12 school year. The School Committee voted 4-1 in favor of the new policy in the elementary schools.

The Mansfield Health Advisory Committee said that this rule was necessary because of nature of children's food allergies. She said that because elementary students are not yet responsible enough to make decisions about their eating habits, depending on allergies, then allowing other children and their parents make and bring in food items, who are likely not to be aware of such allergies, is a liability for the school.

"At this age, they're not mature enough to make those decisions," said Pat Harrison, nurse leader for the school district.

Harrison said that half the surrounding districts have already instituted a simliar policy, and said she believed that a federal mandate for such a policy was not far off. She also said that this is not taking away birthday celebrations, but rather changing how they are celebrated.

"We're not taking the birthday celebration away," Harrison. "That's what we're really trying to stress. Some teachers give extra recess, and parents are definitly going to be involved in September, chatting with their individual teacher about how they want to celebrate."

Committee Member Jean Miller, the one opposing vote to the policy, said she believes this policy to be too controling and invasive into the children's lives.

"This is becoming a nanny state; the no cupcake rule," she said. "What I'm concerned about is that we're going down a path that at some point we're going to tell kids 'you have to buy lunch at school and it has to be these things,' and I'm a little concerned about that."

Miller added that she has a son with severe nut allergies, and he was given a granola bar from the school cafeteria. He suffered a severe reaction, and she pointed out that children can still obtain food they're allergic to from the school, despite the precautions put in place.