Schools' Anti-Sunscreen Policies Anger Parents

Their mother said seeing her girls walk through the door was a moment she'll never forget. "It was horrifying to see (Violet's) bright red face. There were welts, she was swollen and then I saw Zoe's shoulders. It was absolutely painful and gut-wrenching to look at. I was horrified." The burns were so severe, [Jesse] Michener whisked her daughters to the local hospital for examinations.

When Michener pressed school officials on the ban, they told her that there is a state-wide policy that does not allow staff to apply sunscreen to students, and students can only apply it themselves if they have a doctor's note. The law exists because the additives in lotions and sunscreens can cause an allergic reaction in children, and sunscreens are regulated by the FDA as an over-the-counter drug. Michener discovered that the policy exists in 49 states nationwide; California is the only state to allow sunscreen in school without a doctor's note.

"I did share with the principal that any policy that didn't allow her to use common sense was something that I had to do something about," Michener said. "She nodded and shook her head."