Hmmm...we never got Jello shots in my 4th grade class

[WSUCougar]

Who says good parenting is a lost art?
NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- An 8-year-old girl was suspended for nine days for bringing to school what appeared to be about 30 "Jell-O shots" -- though it was unclear whether they contained alcohol.

The incident occurred November 29, as the girl stood after classes outside Geraldine Boudreaux Elementary School in Terrytown, a New Orleans suburb. A teacher spotted liquid dripping out of the student's bookbag and found what looked like the small cups of alcohol-laced gelatin that are sold in bars, schools spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said.

The girl told the principal that her mother, who works in a bar, makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas, Nowakowski said.

The gelatin was turned over to the sheriff's department for testing to see if it contained alcohol.

The girl was suspended for violating school rules against possessing or trying to distribute a "lookalike," or something that appears to contain drugs or alcohol.

Under the lookalike rule, the girl's suspension will stand no matter what the sheriff's department finds.

"The school system's position is, it doesn't matter if it had alcohol in it or not," Nowakowski said.

The names of the girl and her mother were not released.

The mother must also allow school officials to test her daughter's hair for signs of drug use, Nowakowski said.

[Raven Hawk]

Look-a-like? It also looks like a cup of Jell-O!

[WSUCougar]

The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas
Must be a banner f***ing year at the ol' Bender family.

[dawgfan]

Must be a banner f***ing year at the ol' Bender family.

It won't be a total loss - they can always go shopping at QuikSand's Dollar Store...

[John Galt]

The look-a-like provisions are RIDICULOUS. As someone who got in trouble for eating powdered sugar with strawberries at school (when someone else made a random joke about cocaine) in 5th grade, I have a personal beef with these overbroad provisions.

Is cranberry juice an imitation substance because it could have vodka in it? Is there a drink out there that isn't a mixer for something?

If they had alcohol in them, that is one thing, but if they didn't they should apologize to this girl right away.

[AnalBumCover]

I'll buy a $1 worth, please. Cherry flavored, if you have 'em.

[Desnudo]

The look-a-like provisions are RIDICULOUS. As someone who got in trouble for eating powdered sugar with strawberries at school (when someone else made a random joke about cocaine) in 5th grade, I have a personal beef with these overbroad provisions.

Is cranberry juice an imitation substance because it could have vodka in it? Is there a drink out there that isn't a mixer for something?

If they had alcohol in them, that is one thing, but if they didn't they should apologize to this girl right away.

As someone who got in trouble for eating powdered cocaine when someone else made a random joke about no sugar snacks, I have a personal beef too.

[primelord]

The look-a-like provisions are RIDICULOUS. As someone who got in trouble for eating powdered sugar with strawberries at school (when someone else made a random joke about cocaine) in 5th grade, I have a personal beef with these overbroad provisions.

Is cranberry juice an imitation substance because it could have vodka in it? Is there a drink out there that isn't a mixer for something?

If they had alcohol in them, that is one thing, but if they didn't they should apologize to this girl right away.
Your experience was obviously ridiculous, but this doesn't sound at all like the same situation. She was planning to sell Jell-O shots. Whether they were alchoholic or not it is likely that she was going to tell kids it was as she clearly has an understanding of what they were.

This seems to be the exact situation that the look-a-like rule was created for.

[WSUCougar]

Oh lordy, it's already devolved into a lawyer discussion...*sigh*

[Ksyrup]

Your experience was obviously ridiculous, but this doesn't sound at all like the same situation. She was planning to sell Jell-O shots. Whether they were alchoholic or not it is likely that she was going to tell kids it was as she clearly has an understanding of what they were.

This seems to be the exact situation that the look-a-like rule was created for.
I agree. This would be like attempting to sell pipe bombs that won't actually explode. That's not really the point.

[John Galt]

Your experience was obviously ridiculous, but this doesn't sound at all like the same situation. She was planning to sell Jell-O shots. Whether they were alchoholic or not it is likely that she was going to tell kids it was as she clearly has an understanding of what they were.

This seems to be the exact situation that the look-a-like rule was created for.

As far as I can tell, there isn't any statement yet that the girl called them shots. And there isn't any evidence that she implied they had alcohol. If she did, that changes things a bit, but otherwise a cup of jello is still a cup of jello.

I'm not sure how this is that different than my case. At the time, somebody joked that I had a bag of cocaine - in this case, it isn't clear anyone ever said there was alcohol present. If anything, mine seems a little worse.

[John Galt]

Oh lordy, it's already devolved into a lawyer discussion...*sigh*

:p

[Ksyrup]

It will be a few years before I know the answer to this first-hand through my daughters, but isn't it possible that 4th graders (or whomever she was attempting to sell these to) know what a "Jello Shot" is, that the implication is that alcohol is in the drink? It's not like she was selling cups of lemonade. "Jello shot" has a specific meaning, albeit implied.

[Desnudo]

"A teacher spotted liquid dripping out of the student's bookbag and found what looked like the small cups of alcohol-laced gelatin that are sold in bars, schools spokesman Jeff Nowakowski said."

The last thing I would have bought in the 4th grade would have been jello out of some other kid's bookbag. Gross.

[korme]

It will be a few years before I know the answer to this first-hand through my daughters, but isn't it possible that 4th graders (or whomever she was attempting to sell these to) know what a "Jello Shot" is, that the implication is that alcohol is in the drink? It's not like she was selling cups of lemonade. "Jello shot" has a specific meaning, albeit implied.
in 4th or 5th grade i would have no clue what a jello shot was, also, no clue what 'cocaine' was as John mentioned some kid made a joke about it at that age.

[vex]

Shorty, you didn't have D.A.R.E.?

[korme]

yea, but i don't remember what we went over, and i'm not sure when i started to learn about illegal things but.. i don't ever remember talking about anything of that sort THAT early.

[judicial clerk]

Smoke up Johnny!

[duckman]

Cocaine's a hellva drug!

[yabanci]

So they are going to suspend and start drug testing an 8 year-old girl because she brought jello to school. Interesting.

[primelord]

As far as I can tell, there isn't any statement yet that the girl called them shots. And there isn't any evidence that she implied they had alcohol. If she did, that changes things a bit, but otherwise a cup of jello is still a cup of jello.

I'm not sure how this is that different than my case. At the time, somebody joked that I had a bag of cocaine - in this case, it isn't clear anyone ever said there was alcohol present. If anything, mine seems a little worse.
"The girl told the principal that her mother, who works in a bar, makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas, Nowakowski said."

Based on that it looks to me like she did in fact know what they were and that they could contain alcohol.

[John Galt]

"The girl told the principal that her mother, who works in a bar, makes alcoholic shots at home and sells them at work. The fourth-grader said her mother had instructed her to take the shots to school and sell them, three for $1, to make some money for Christmas, Nowakowski said."

Based on that it looks to me like she did in fact know what they were and that they could contain alcohol.

Quotes from the principal who suspended her defending her decision to the media are a little suspect to me. If she used words like "shots" it doesn't mean the girl did and I still don't see where she thought there was alcohol in them. My mom was a bartender and I made a lot of things like what she served at work, but I never thought they had alcohol in them. Unless there is much more evidence, this still strikes me as a reason why imitation substance provisions are overbroad.