- Carter Mannon, 16, has a severe peanut allergy and must avoid all contact with the nuts.
- He told his classmates about the allergy, but they filled his locker with nuts, causing him to break out in hives.
- His mother has demanded that more action be taken against the children responsible
The mother of a boy with severe allergies slammed the school district for ruling that his teammates putting peanuts in his locker and on his uniform was not bullying.
In October, 16-year-old Carter Mannon told his college football teammates at Lake Travis High School in Texas about his peanut allergy and made it clear that it could kill him.
Then, before a varsity game, he opened his locker and discovered that his teammate had filled it with peanuts, including the inside of his jersey.
Your allergy is so severe that if dust or oils had gotten into your eyes or mouth, you would have had only a few minutes to react. He broke out in hives, but he knew what to do, he washed his hands quickly and was still able to play.
But over the next month, their mother, Shawna Mannon, said not enough action was taken: “These kids received minimal consequences.”
Carter, 16, had told his teammates that he had a severe peanut allergy that could kill him.
The school determined that the incident did not qualify as bullying.
Shawna discovered she had severe allergies when Carter was just nine months old and always carried several EpiPens in all of her bags.
The worst part, he said, was that the boys knew they were putting his life at risk, he said: “A couple of teammates on his college football team asked him about his peanut allergy and asked if he could kill it. He said yes. , which absolutely could do it.
So when he told her what had happened, she became furious, telling PIX 11, “I think the hardest part was, first of all, I was his teammate.”
“You know, you have this brotherhood and football, and it was disappointing that he was his teammate.”
She told CBS: “They might as well have loaded a gun and pointed it at his head because this is a fatal thing for my son.”
The boys responsible were benched for two games, but Shawna said no further action was taken.
On November 16, he spoke in front of the school district and urged them to do more against the children.
She said: “Since this incident, my son has faced backlash and retaliation almost daily.”
On one occasion, he said, he found a peanut granola bar in his coat pocket.
Carter’s mother, Shawna, is furious and demands more action be taken against the boys responsible
Carter has been bullied ever since and found a peanut granola bar in his pocket.
The district admitted to CBS that it did not open a harassment investigation until after she spoke in front of the school board.
Then, when the bullying investigation ended, school officials decided the incident did not qualify as bullying since the legal elements of bullying were not met.
The Texas Education Code defines bullying as “an act or pattern of acts that physically harms a student or materially disrupts the educational process.”
Shawna has since filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and is in the middle of a complaint with Lake Travis ISD.
She maintains that the school district ignored its policy when it allowed the athletic department to determine discipline.