CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — UPDATE, 2/19/2020: After a week of investigation, the school district said the Clay County District Schools Police Department “could not establish a causal relationship between the food and the alleged illnesses” of Oakleaf Junior High School students whose parents said they tested positive for THC after eating food served during a class presentation on February 7.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Clay County School District says investigators have not been able to confirm bread brought into a classroom was laced with THC and made children sick.
- Some parents told Action News Jax they are frustrated with the results of the investigation and want more accountability from the school.
- Action News Jax reporter Elizabeth Pace takes a look at what the Clay County School District is reviewing now to prevent any other incidents at their schools on CBS47 and FOX30 Action News Jax at 5 p.m.
“Not even the place that you send them where they’re supposed to be okay during the day is OK either,” parent Alysha Pierre said.
Pierre’s stepson was one of the 8th grade students that tested positive for THC. She showed the lab results to Action News Jax reporter Elizabeth Pace.
“It makes me angry because these big corporations have all these people, you have these people to back you, but who protects my children, that’s what I want to know,” Pierre said.
After hearing the conclusion of the investigation, some parents told Action News Jax they are frustrated and want accountability from the school.
“Just for someone to stand up and say, ‘You know what, something obviously happened and someone is going to take responsibility,’” Pierre said. “But to me it just seems like it’s not going to happen and I’m not surprised at it at all.”
The Clay County School District released the following statement on the investigation:
“The Clay County District Schools Police Department learned that several students and a teacher at Oakleaf Junior High School claimed to be ill after consuming food during class on Friday, February 7, 2020. After more than a week of investigation, which included interviews and testing, the Police could not establish a causal relationship between the food and the alleged illnesses. This event has provided an opportunity for the District to review existing policies on food prepared outside of the cafeteria. As always, safety is the highest priority and the District will continue to search and identify ways to increase positive experiences for all students and staff.”
Original story from 2/10/2020 below:
Action News Jax Investigates after parents of students at Oakleaf Junior High School say their children tested positive for THC after eating food during a student presentation at school Friday.
Wednesday, the Clay County School District told Action News Jax the incident is still under investigation, but Clay County School Police are hoping to release more information by the end of the week.
WHAT WE KNOW:
- During a Holocaust presentation for an 8th grade class at Oakleaf Junior High, students said a fellow classmate brought in home-cooked bread for a presentation. Following this class, parents said their children became sick.
- Action News Jax spoke to three different sets of parents who said their children became ill after eating that bread and all tested positive for THC. Each showed the test results from their individual hospitals.
- Parents are demanding accountability and asking the school about protocol for bringing in home-cooked food.
- Clay County School District officials told Action News Jax they are investigating the incident, but cannot comment further.
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“Friday, at about 1:30 p.m., I got a call from the principal at our son’s school," Alysha Pierre said. “She was informing me that some kids started going home feeling sick after their first and second periods. She told me she felt as though it was food poisoning. But she did allude to the project, the Holocaust project due at school and someone brought food.”
Later that day, Alysha Pierre, the student’s stepmother, and Lekina, the same student’s mother said they both found comments in a private Facebook group for Oakleaf parents. It was posted by another mother, which said her daughter tested positive for THC after eating her classmate’s bread during the presentation.
“I got scared,” Alysha Pierre said. “I took him to the hospital at 8 o’clock Saturday morning, and he too tested positive for THC.”
“You send your kid to school thinking everything going to be okay, that’s the last place I thought something like this would happen,” Lekina said. “It’s just scary, as a parent it’s a real sickening feeling.”
Alysha Pierre and Lekina said they met with their son’s principal and school police officer Monday. They said the school is investigating students, teachers and parents to find what happened with students.
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