Georgia’s largest school district may reconsider four-day suspensions handed to two fifth-graders who shared prescription Nasonex that didn’t belong to them, according to NBC station WXIA.
Parents of the two students in the Gwinnett County Public Schools, which serves the metro Atlanta area, protested that the penalty for sharing the allergy medicine was too harsh. However, school officials say a policy requiring that parents arrange the administering of prescription drugs through a school clinic is for the safety of all students.
"There should be some consequence; we just think a four-day suspension is not what's best," Marita Ballard-Murphy, the mother of one of the students, told WXIA. "My daughter certainly doesn't think nasal spray is a bad drug. She thinks it's helpful."
The mother of the other child called the incident an innocent mistake.
"They're young," said Tanthia Reid. "It was purely innocent. They share lipstick."
Although the school district stood by its policy, officials met with the parents Monday and said they might reconsider the girls’ penalties, WXIA reported.
On Friday, amid high pollen counts in the Atlanta area, Ballard-Murphy’s daughter brought eye drops and her mother’s expired bottle of Nasonex to Sycamore Elementary School. When the girl saw her best friend sneezing and sniffling, she shared the nasal spray.
A teacher found the girls with the medicine and determined it did not belong to either of them.
They were sent home with four-day suspensions, the minimum penalty for violating the school policy.
Ballard-Murphy says her daughter had perfect attendance; Reid said her daughter is and A and B student.
Jorge Quintana, Gwinnett schools spokesman, told msnbc.com: "You don’t know who’s allergic to what. What if a third or fourth student were given the medicine and had an adverse reaction? The rules are in place for a reason.”
This article includes reporting by NBC station WXIA and msnbc.com's Jim Gold.
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