A 5th grade student in Commack, N.Y, was recently suspended from John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School, after bring organic peppermint oil to school. The young girl added several drops in her water bottle and several classmates’ water.
The School District posted a news release saying a student was suspended for “bringing, and then distributing bottled peppermint oil to other students.” “Peppermint oil is an unregulated over-the-counter drug,” the release reads. Commack Superintendent James Feltman said there was “no question” that Sara’s actions violated the district’s code of conduct when she brought the oil to school on Monday.
The girl’s mother, Corrine Morton-Greiner, said on Thursday that the implication that her daughter Sara, a fifth-grade student at John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School, was bringing an illicit substance to school is “infuriating, according to Long Island Press. Mom also states, she is considering legal action if school officials don’t apologize and revoke her daughter’s suspension.
To be very honest, I am not sure what my take on this is. I am no doctor, and I do understand that these oils have been used in alternative medicines, I can not seem to make up my mind if suspending a child over them, is really effective.
What are your thoughts? Should the girl be suspended from school for bring organic peppermint oil to school?