Weird School Bans

Weird School Bans

Schools have rules to protect students and foster a positive learning environment. Some are strange and controversial – like the ban on bagged lunches recently imposed by one Chicago-area school. Here's a lineup of school bans that have grabbed headlines and begged the question: Have schools gone too far?

Bag lunch ban

The war on childhood obesity has landed in the lunchroom. A school in the Chicago area banned students from bringing bag lunches, claiming they contain unhealthy food.

School cafeteria guidelines recently changed

School bans 'meep'

Inspired by a Muppet students at a high school in Massachusetts started using the word "meep." The school principal felt that the word disrupted school, so it was banned.

Watch another inspiring meeper

Social media group supports meep

Breast cancer awareness bracelets ban

A new marketing campaign for breast cancer awareness has a slogan that some deem offensive, so some school districts have banned bracelets and T-shirts emblazoned with the catch phrase.

First Amendment violation?

Shop for breast cancer awareness gear

Tag game ban

Recess has become a dangerous time for some kids. School officials are concerned with the safety of students when playing contact sports like tag and dodge ball,so the games have been banned in several schools. 

Is tag bad for self-esteem?

Cartwheel ban

A school in Australia has banned cartwheels and handstands during recess, citing student safety issues. Parents protested, and school officials vowed to find a balance between students' recreation and safety. 

Learn how to cartwheel

Leggings and skinny jeans ban

Some school districts have added leggings and skinny jeans to their lists of banned clothing. Officials think they're too tight; many students disagree. 

See photos of celebrities who inspired the fashion trend

Lip balm ban

A North Carolina school district's ban on lip balm has rubbed some parents the wrong way. Officials claimed their goal was to prevent the spread of germs.

How to make your own lip balm

Dictionary ban

Complaints from parents over sexually explicit definitions caused a school in California to ban dictionaries from elementary school classrooms. 

Buy an age-appropriate dictionary

Silly Bandz ban

Silly Bandz are all the rage with American youth. Now they are contraband in some schools. The plastic bracelets were ruled a distraction to students, and they have been banned in many schools. 

Buy Silly Bandz
Rare Silly Bandz

Hugging ban

Students must embrace a no-hugging policy at schools in several states. Hugs have been ruled a distraction, the cause of tardiness and even a bizarre form of hazing.

Hugging etiquette

Red Ink Ban

Teachers in some British schools have been banned from using red ink to correct students' work.Other less-offensive colors are deemed more acceptable when it comes to calling out corrections with a positive approach.

Read about studies on the effects of red ink grading

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