Leave it to the nanny state to put the “block” in “sunblock.” Multiple state governments are pursuing bills to let schoolkids apply their SPF-50 without first asking for permission or acquiring a doctor’s note. According to the Wall Street Journal, California, New York, Oregon, and Texas have already passed laws allowing students to bring sunscreen to school and use it. Ten other states have their own measures in the works.
It seems silly that legislatures would need to rock the Banana Boat like this in the first place. But the Food and Drug Administration classifies sunscreen as an over-the-counter medicine, which apparently has put it in a strange regulatory limbo. How, exactly? Does sunblock’s OTC designation require public schools in 50 states to abide by a certain mandate? Or do some states interpret that classification as a reason to send students to the nurse’s office for fevers and sunburn prevention alike? The Scrapbook asked Doug Farquhar of the National Council of State Legislatures, who was quoted in the Journal story, for his take. He said he had the same questions and asked the FDA. So did we. There was no response as of press time.
