No More Nuts: Implementing School Policies Preventing the Presence of Peanuts

Abstract

Thousands of children go to school every day facing an unexpected potential killer that’s only about the size of a penny: the peanut. Unfortunately, even though it is known that the presence of peanuts in schools may create a significant and even life-threatening health risk for severely allergic children, many schools fail to enact and enforce peanut policies. Because of how vital peanut policies can be for children severely allergic to peanuts, I argue that schools should be peanut-free to help protect these children while at school and help them avoid the possible anxiety or bullying that comes with some of the other solutions schools propose.