Sweet Tooth Gets Girl, 10, a Week of Detention
Categories: In The News, Weird But True
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Not so Jolly Rancher? Having a sweet tooth is a punishable offense in one Texas school. Credit: Lin Pernille, Flickr
Officials at a Texas elementary school brought out the big guns when they discovered a third-grader was carrying contraband -- contraband candy, that is.
FoxNews.com reports that Leighann Adair, 10, was caught by her teacher with an unopened piece of Jolly Rancher candy and was slapped with what some are calling a draconian punishment: a week's worth of detention during lunch and recess. She and the girl who gave her the candy also had to write essays on what they did and why it was wrong.
"It's an extreme punishment for something so small," Michael Brazda, Leighann's stepfather, tells FOXNews.com.
Her parents pleaded for leniency, the news station reports, but were rebuffed by officials at Brazos Elementary School in Orchard, Texas, who said they must adhere to their strict no-candy policy or risk a sticky mess. School superintendent Jack Ellis went so far as to say that Adair's crime also violated Texas guidelines about limiting the amount of junk food in schools.
However, the state begs to differ and felt compelled to set the record straight. Officials from the Texas Department of Agriculture reminded school leaders in a letter that state policy does not lay out severe punishments for carrying verboten sweets.
"Our policy does not prohibit from sharing a Jolly Rancher with a friend," spokesperson Bryan Black tells FOXNews.com. "If a parent wants to pack candy, it's their decision, not against school policy. A parent needs to decide what a student eats."
Leighann's mom, Amber Brazda, wants to know if the school plans on bringing in "candy-sniffing dogs," and says she is more than a little perturbed by this turn of events.
"I will put her in a private school if I have to," she tells the website.
Related: Snacking Shocker: Kids Prefer Cheetos to Carrots
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 28)
KARL karl 5-12-2010 @ 6:31PM
time for the parents of the school take over whats best for there kid's.this was bad school policy and school should be punished for what they did wrong.
Reply
Zerod57 5-13-2010 @ 8:20AM
Indeed Karl,
But then I remember grade school in the sixties. Perhaps the faculty should adopt a similar "program" that has affected my generation to this very day; "Candy leads to heroin".
Maybe they could tone it down, in keeping with the era, with; "Candy leads to vicodan". Soon an entire nation can be split & turned against each other & the kids will have to meet out in the high school parking lot to get their black market candy fixes.
"This is your brain on Jolly Ranchers".
Who's thinking about the children?
Bill 5-13-2010 @ 8:43AM
If we use this as a "template" for appropriate punishment, Obama, his criminals & all of Congress should be be-headed in a public square. Then Wall Street should be forced to cut their remains up in small pieces to make an insipid stew they would all be fed while in prison. And no candy afterward!
Dee 5-13-2010 @ 9:07AM
Karl, I agree 100%. Parents need to stand up to the schools that are abusing their power and losing all common sense. As for Bill's comment...what exactly does Obama have to do with this? Like him or not, this article has NOTHING to do with the president....do you have to drag your hatred into EVERYTHING?
Pamela 5-13-2010 @ 9:21AM
With the horrible junk food and obesity problem with our children, I say DO MORE and ban all foods with high fructose syrup. I like the message that the school sent. I'm with the school...rules are rules and the parents should have known better. Give your kid the candy at HOME.
steve 5-13-2010 @ 9:22AM
You are right.We should do away with ALL rules.That way when these kids turn to crime it will be easier.Rules are made for a reason.The more we do away with them the quicker this country slides into hell.Yes a week of punishment is a bit much but still a rule is a rule.
Jim 5-13-2010 @ 9:36AM
doesn't this sound like communisn in it's simplest form?
BTDT 5-13-2010 @ 9:40AM
What the hell is the world coming to?
It's way past time for "We the people" to display zero tollerance for control freak administraters.
In the old days they would be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.
Dunk 5-13-2010 @ 9:54AM
First a Jolly Rancher, next comes the hard stuff - a Pez dispenser. Stop this little girl in her tracks before she ends up a career criminal! Everyone knows that concealing candy leads to more serious offenses such as robbery and murder.
sue 5-13-2010 @ 9:56AM
Can the parents check the menu of what the teachers are eating also? What is the concequence if the teachers are drinking too much caffine or sugar drinks? I am
Marjorie 5-13-2010 @ 10:03AM
The Candy Police (in this case) went a little too far!!
If the child had it in her mouth maybe the school could justify a time out with no recess or something BUT get serious!! This went WAY TOO far. I have grandchildren in the Texas school system and I would be irrate with such punishment. The teachers may have to have bad breath, so watch out for those Candy Police---they are looking at your breath mints!!!!
mary 5-13-2010 @ 10:24AM
schools today are out for making names for themselves. I agree with you.
tired of being told what to do with my children..
Momfor2 5-13-2010 @ 10:41AM
Please.....they did not paddle her or put her in solitary confinement. Teachers and administrators can do little to get kids to listen these days we have tied their hands. Also, was this the first time or is she one who habitually breaks the rules maybe there is more here to the story than just a piece of candy.
getreal13 5-13-2010 @ 10:43AM
If the parents don't like the school rules, then change schools. That's the problem these days. People want to change all the rules to comfort their own pathetic little feelings.
eileen 5-13-2010 @ 10:46AM
Schools have real problems, except they are busy focusing on things that are a non-issue...this is rediculous, lack of common sense, and really no harm done to anyone by sharing a piece of candy...if it were my child, I'd be livid!
michelle 5-13-2010 @ 11:10AM
yes your right this is rediculous,i would like to know what thier policy is for bullies!!!!!!!
Brenda 5-13-2010 @ 11:18AM
it's not like she had a gun or something, whats she going to do throw the candy at her teachers or the other kids. My God it's just candy, what harm can tat do?
solocam 5-13-2010 @ 11:42AM
that's where this country is going to hell in a handbasket, kid's nowadays have very little discipline, and even less punishment when they do something wrong, so why abide by the rules. if we dont start making and holding true to harsher punishments, even for little thing's (that's where it starts) then there is no fear if a person does something wrong, we've already taken god out of just about everything.
pat 5-13-2010 @ 11:54AM
what the heck was the school thinking. they should be teaching these kids to read and write and math ,and not be so concerned with what they eat. I work in the public and hire so many people(young adults) that can't count or spell correctly.this country has gotten their priorities wrong,The wrong kind of guidence that schools and some parents are giving their kids. thats why these kids run wild.if you don't believe that kids have run amuck, go sit in a major retail store and watch.
George 5-13-2010 @ 12:06PM
Write essays on what they did and why it was wrong...
talk about brainwashing.
How about we have a no-tolerance policy for illegal drugs in school...that would be a change.