MalloryKeaton

http://www.click2houston.com/educati...21/detail.html

Jello Treat Gets 4th-Grader Suspended

POSTED: 10:05 am EST December 8, 2004
UPDATED: 10:15 am EST December 8, 2004

GRETNA, La. -- A fourth grader has been suspended for taking what was described as a look-alike drug to her elementary school in Gretna, La.

Kelli Billingsley, 8, brought homemade jello cups to school at Boudreaux Elementary.

Her mom said the school tested the jello and determined it didn't have any alcohol in it. But the school suspended the girl for having a look-alike drug.

The girl's mom said her daughter was just trying to make a treat for her friends.

The superintendent of Jefferson Parish schools said she will investigate the case.

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved

The Happy Psycho

Thats insane. I might understand if it had been a high school student, but an 8 year old?

*Lauren

Where were the jello shots when I was in 3rd class?

Butterflyz

That's completely insane. Where's this? America? If it is, I'm not suprised in the slightest. Sure, caution is good, caution is one of the best things but that's over the top.

Starless Night 20

Dear, God. People are so overly worried about things that aren't really there.

And third grader bringing jello shots into school?

Insanity.

I'd understand if it was high school or something with "special brownies," but for Christ's sake. The girl's eight years old.

Jadiee

Oh yea... when i was 8yrs old, we did jello shots all the time. Almost every day man.

Jeez, at 8yrs old, kids dont even know wth a jello shot is. Infact, i think at that age, i thought of all alcohol as nasty gross things... like boys

LittleMilkJug

The mum should sue the pants off the school.

Katis

whatever, jello shots resemble jello cups. Jello as a dessert came first, how is it the fault of some little girl if someone made a drink out of a harmless dessert she brought for her friends? Some people go way too far in this zero tolerance, crazy ass bull.

And since when is a jello shot a drug?

Ambular

Who cares if it was a LOOKALIKE drug? It was friggin jello! There was obviously no drugs in it. Kids don't even know what jello shots are.

TheAngel

We now live in a world where the actions of the minority dictate the restrictions placed on the majority. Welcome to your future, Big Brother is watching.

dizzy_izzy

This is a prime example of a paranoid school district. I know some people believe it's safer to err on the side of caution...but when you are accusing an 8 year old of bringing jello shots to school, I think caution isn't the word for it. Maybe it's time for the accuser and the principal to take a different job or for the mother to transfer her child to a different school.
I don't know how many times I brought jello cups or brownies to school for lunch or in-class parties when I was in grade school. No one ever thought twice about it. I can understand the suspension if there was actually alcohol in them, but this is just insanity.

-Kelly-

Poor kid.

MalloryKeaton

Here's an update:

http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/news/nat...nat_jello.html
Girl who brought Jell-O shots to school returns to class
By The Associated Press
(12/09/04 - NEW ORLEANS, LA) — A fourth-grade girl may return to school Friday, having completed a nine-day suspension for bringing to school what appeared to be about 30 "Jell-O shots," school officials said.

Neither a sheriff's spokesman nor school officials would divulge if the gelatin cups contained alcohol. School officials said testing results are private because they're in the child's disciplinary record.
The little girl, her mother and school officials met Thursday and agreed the child will also have a hair test to determine if there are any signs of drug use; she and her mother will also undergo a three-hour counseling session with school officials.

The girl's mother, Adrienne Noble, could not be reached Thursday at the French Quarter bar where she works. Earlier, she insisted the Jell-O cups were nonalcoholic treats for her daughter's classmates.

The incident occurred Nov. 29, as the girl stood outside the Geraldine Boudreaux Elementary School in Terrytown, a New Orleans suburb. A teacher spotted liquid dripping out of the student's bookbag, looked inside and found what looked like the cups of alcohol-laced gelatin sold in bars.

A school system spokesman said the girl told Principal Dorothy Bailey her mother makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. She said her mom told her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, "to make some money for Christmas,"' schools spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said.

According to school policy, the fact that the Jell-O looked like an alcoholic product was enough to punish the girl -- whether it was alcoholic or not.

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press


Why are they going to test an 8-year-old for drug use? Do they honestly believe she uses drugs?

Lovesbitch

Ok, I'm kinda torn right now on what to believe.

Maybe the jello wasn't alcoholic and the mom wanted her to seel normal Jello Squares for a few cents. And there's nothing really that wrong with it.

Then again, it seems like there is alot more to the story than just that.

No1important

I think it is the archaic Sociatal Values held in "deeply right wing religious" area's of america's south. It is 2005 almost not 1950.