Story Archive

Burning Mad

Christy Riggs’ daughter went on a school field trip and came home sunburned. Riggs had wanted to send her with sunscreen to reapply during their six hours in the sun, but the North East Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, has banned sunscreen because it is considered a toxic substance. “The school wants us to lather our kids up in sunscreen before school,” Riggs said. “But when they’re outside all day or swimming, they need to be reapplying every couple hours.” Riggs has legitimate concerns. “Our family has very pale skin, and my father actually passed away from skin cancer earlier this year,” she said. “What sort of message is the school sending when they tell us to leave sunscreen at home?” The school treats suntan lotion like medicine, and if a student needs to apply it during the day, they must have a doctor’s note and leave it in the nurse’s office. “We don’t want students sharing sunscreen,” a school spokeswoman said. “If students get it in their eyes or react badly to the sunscreen it can be quite serious.” School officials said they review policies annually and may revisit the suntan lotion ban. (MS/ABC, Fox) ...What? Are they actually going to use their entire brains this time?