The parents of a 10-year-old boy with a very serious peanut allergy are suing Livonia Public Schools.
Kathy Williams said her son, Nick, could die if exposed to peanuts.
She told WWJ Newsradio 950′s Marie Osborne that the district has failed to protect him.
“We had asked them to go peanut and tree nut-free, and their response to us was, due to the upset in the community and the backlash from other parents, we refuse to change practices,” Williams said.
Williams said other area school districts have made certain buildings peanut-free if a student has a deadly form of the allergy.
She said her son is forced to eat his lunch in “an office with cinder block walls” and has been victimized at school. ”He’s been bullied; he’s been picked up; he’s been beaten up … had his medicine stolen,” Williams said.
Williams said she’s been on the receiving end of harsh criticism from other parents.
“‘Why should we have to do this for one child?’ ‘I don’t really care if your child dies; my child’s getting the cupcake.’ ‘Why don’t you keep him at home? He doesn’t deserve to be here,’” Williams said.
Livonia schools said, in a statement, that due to pending litigation they can’t comment but are doing all they can to accommodate the student.