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A new bill has been introduced to the Arizona House to eliminate the ban on sunscreens in Arizona schools. Since it's considered an over the counter drug, the law currently requires a written doctor's note to apply the product on school grounds, but that could be changing soon.
Just like cough syrup or Ibuprofen, sunscreen is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, meaning to have and use it on school grounds, you need a written doctor's note, even though many parents we spoke to didn't even know about the current law. They say this bill is necessary, especially living in the desert.
It's hard to believe in a state with 300-plus sunny days a year that sunscreen is banned from most schools without a doctor's note.
"Being a nurse, you know it's always like we have to protect our son.. that's ridiculous, I never heard of that until you told me about that ," said Rose, an elementary school student's parent.
Richard, another parent of an elementary school student, added, "I think they should change the law on that.. look at his little skin.. you don't want to damage that! Shouldn't have to have medical clearance to put on sunscreen."
"We truly want to empower parents and allow them to send their children with sunscreen so that they can re-apply throughout the day," said Representative Heather Carter.
Carter says House Bill 2134 just make sense. Not only would it allow kids to carry sunscreen on school grounds, it would also allow schools to include policies allowing staff to help students apply the product with their parents' consent.
Now that the bill has been introduced to the Arizona State Capitol, it will eventually go to a vote.
House Bill 2134
schools; children's camps; sunscreen use
https://apps.azleg.gov/BillStatus/BillOverview/68605