Mom Sues Son's High School

[IDrinkaRum]

to ban perfumes and cologne

Another article on the case

The mother, Janice Zandi, has filed a suit against Fort Wayne County Schools to ban the use of perfumes and colognes in their schools, specifically Northrop High School where her son goes.

The family and presumably the school have known since 2009 the boy is allergic to the scents of perfume and cologne. She is saying they are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Is this a good idea? A stupid idea? The family has allegedly tried to work with school officials to ban the items, but the principal has only asked the students to cut down on their usage during the school day.

[crashhelmet]

It's difficult to take a side in this. i can understand the mother's argument and at the same time, i can see where the school and even some of the commenters about it.

Essentially, I think the student should start wearing a painter's mask while possibly undergoing medical treatment to try and cure/heal/stabilize the problem. As the commenters pointed out, what will he do after high school? Have his college ban it? His employer?

[Andara Bledin]

Oh, wow. Here's a pdf of the suit:
J.Z. v Fort Wayne Community Schools

According to the complaint, the defendant "denied J.Z. access to high school enrollment, education and related academic and non-academic opportunities because of his disability."

His allergy wasn't actually pinpointed until March of this year, when he continued to have respiratory issues while attending school. It was at that point that she started petitioning for the school to ban aerosol scented sprays, and only the use of such on the school premises.

The suit also mentions that the school sent a letter to the family criticizing the kid for having missed 5 or more days of school when those days missed were due to complications from nearly dying due to his allergy. Way to really look like insensitive clods, there.

All things being equal, I don't see that the school placing a ban on body sprays would be too much to ask. They're not required for, well, anything at all.

The mom has gone through all the motions. When it became apparent that her kid had an issue, she went to the doctors to determine what was causing it. Then she went to the school and requested that they remove the trigger from his environment. She did that for both the spring quarter, and again in the fall. She met with the principal who brushed her off and commented "[J.Z.] just has bad genes." She then went up the chain until there was nobody left to go to, at which point she filed the suit.

IANAL, of course, but it seems the case has merit and it's likely that the judge will set an immediate order that sprays be banned from the entirely indoor campus while it wends it's way through the system.

[edit to add]
It is worth noting that J.Z. has never had a reaction other than while attending school. Not in public, not while at work, not while at home. Only while inside the school building. This doesn't actually surprise me as teens are probably the most likely to over-indulge in scent-laden body sprays such as Axe and the like.

^-.-^

[gremcint]

you know I'm actually in favour of this, plenty of workplaces are going scent free, a lot of colleges encourage it.

If he had a nut allergy or something similar they would try to accommodate him.

Further in grade school one of the teacher's banned them as well for her own allergy.

[fireheart17]

First of all, I'm seeing aerosol body sprays, then perfumes and cologne? Is he allergic to all three?

My first high school banned the body sprays-regardless of whether they were actual deodorants or just the Impulse/Evoke body sprays. The second high school more or less discouraged them, but we all had the courtesy to ask if someone was allergic and/or asthmatic first so we still used them.

[Andara Bledin]

The kid is allergic to the scent used in personal hygiene items. This only becomes an issue when they get sprayed in the air when or shortly before he gets into an area.

I suspect the biggest problem is between classes when kids are at their lockers and spraying down while they trade books. The primary culprit, due to the way it's used, are the body sprays, but they also include perfumes, colognes, and hair spray, among others. It's likely one of the main carrying agents in use for commercial scents as opposed to the actual scents themselves.

^-.-^

[Eisa]

You know, honestly, I don't think they should ban the use of perfume/cologne/body spray. Unless they have a different reason than the allergy of one student. It just seems...kind of weird to me to make everyone change their habits to accommodate one person...and if he's that allergic, he REALLY needs to figure out a way to get the allergy calmed down himself, because in other places, no one IS going to accommodate it...even if it's just in school for now, that doesn't mean his allergy sensitivity won't change, and...yeah he has to figure out what he's gonna do.

I mean, I have a nearly life-threatening allergy to cats. If I'm around one for any amount of time, my eyes swell, my throat swells a little, my nose stuffs up, I start coughing like I'm inhaling broken glass, I cry...if a cat scratched me, the site would swell up really bad. And I know it's not exactly the same because it's a little easier to stay away from kitties. But I just don't go to people's houses who have cats, or if I do...I take Zyrtec and then get out when I absolutely can't stand it anymore. I realize Zyrtec won't really work for him, but I would think he needs to figure out if he can get around his allergy some other way.

That being said, some of the school said was pretty dickish. Like the criticizing him for missing 5 days of school thing. Well, duh.

[IDrinkaRum]

The only reason the school criticized him for missing 5 days is because they were on the defensive. More and more offices are becoming scent-free due to employees who seem to enjoy bathing in perfumes/colognes/body sprays instead of actually bathing.

The kids in high school don't really need to be dousing themselves in anything during the day. The only immersion they need is into their school books/work and not scents. Plus it's one less thing the kids have to worry about. (Which scent will "the one" today to get me noticed by that hot person? kind of thing).

[Greenday]

It's a tough decision. I mean, if he's allergic, he's allergic. Also, the school obviously mishandled everything and proved themselves to be dicks.

Even though high school was five years away, my period of high school was when stuff like Axe came out and was huge. In the morning, you couldn't walk down a hallway without getting dizzy from the high concentration of that stuff. Girls would blast themselves with perfume. It was basically chemical warfare. That I don't understand. You don't have any reason to be spraying yourself between every class. Why don't you do it before you go to school?

But my main thing is, when it came to gym class, it was important. There was no showers and even if we had showers, no one would have used them because it would have meant being really late to your next class. So we would just wipe ourselves down with our own towels and use a quick spritz of Axe.

[Kimmik]

Does he avoid department stores, restaurant bathrooms,and more importantly how does he work at a retirement center with so many different smells? Personally this is where I would home school my child because they need extensive medical test to determine the cause of the sudden onset of such a severe reaction.

The child is 17 and has now suffered 3 serious reactions, and if he is attending the same school that he has always gone to what has changed? It happens at school so has there been a change at the school recently?

Dont get me wrong as someone that has several allergies, latex, certain scents trigger migraines, children who are on a liquid cillin's... so I am not being a dick, I am just curious as to what has changed over the course of his education. Does he ride a bus?

I could see baning the use inside and around doorways as that is a simple and effective way of abiding by the ADA. But then you have to think what will you do to a child that forgets and does it?

It is like where my friends children go to school. In one class there is a girl with peanut allergy. instead of banning all nuts, they ban it in the class room and the cafeteria is aware of it.

[Andara Bledin]

The child is 17 and has now suffered 3 serious reactions, and if he is attending the same school that he has always gone to what has changed? It happens at school so has there been a change at the school recently?

It's likely that his allergy is one of the type where he's fine or mostly fine until it builds to a certain level, at which point it becomes life-threatening, as a shellfish allergy will.

The most recent attack resulted in his requiring three epi-pen injections, oxygen, and an IV that included steroids to get his airways opened back up.

Does he avoid department stores, restaurant bathrooms,and more importantly how does he work at a retirement center with so many different smells?

He probably does avoid places like perfume counters. Public restrooms, being massively better ventilated than school hallways are likely much less trouble, and in those cases, he could stop and wait to ensure the air was clear before entering. He probably does have minor issues while in public from it, but those would be on the level that a general allergen relief would work for. It's only when he walks through a cloud of the stuff that's still in the air that it becomes life-threatening.

Actually, there is another solution entirely that would almost assuredly keep him from having any chance of coming in contact with fresh spray in the air, and absolve the school from having to actually ban the stuff: Why not just have him move from class to class five minutes early? That way, he'd have time to get to his next class before the rest of the kids were in the halls.

I wonder if that's even occurred to anyone involved in this whole mess?

^-.-^

[Greenday]

I still don't get why anyone would need to spray themselves with perfume, cologne, or deodorent between every class (except for after gym).

[Dreamstalker]

Axe spray needs to go away. How anyone could think that crap smells good is a mystery.

[Greenday]

Axe spray needs to go away. How anyone could think that crap smells good is a mystery.

Based on personal experience, it actually does work. Just as long as you don't use up a can per use.

[Rageaholic]

I can see both sides to this as well.

I don't agree with banning stuff based on the allergies of one kid. As much as it sucks that he's allergic, the world can't bend over to accomodate him.

On the other hand, it's only cologne. I fail to see why students need it. I also think it sucks that he can't go anywhere just because of his allergy. I know, there's nothing that can be done without infringing on the rights of others, but I understand the concern.

Overall, I have to disagree with the mom on this one. It's not the Schools fault that he's allegic so why is she sueing them? Though I do think the Schools are being assholes for giving him hell for missing when he had a LIFE THREATENING CONDITION. Typical facist bullshit, but that's really the only thing that Schools did wrong.