Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, recently addressed concerns about bullying when students pulled a potentially deadly prank. Some varsity football players played the prank on their fellow teammate, Carter. The young man suffers from a peanut allergy and opened his locker one day to find something deadly: several peanuts waiting for him inside.
The event occurred on one of Cater’s first games with the team. His mom, Shawna, disclosed that she had received a call from another parent informing her of the incident, concerned that it would trigger sn an allergic raection. “He was already on his way to the game,” said Shawna. “I don’t know if he’s OK. I just need to know what is going on.”
Lethal Peanut Allergy
Even though Carter felt the effects of the peanut allergy, he did all he could to continue the game. After, Carter told his mom about his experience. He explained that the peanuts fell from his jersey when he opened his locker. Luckily, he knew how to handle the situation and promptly went to wash his hands, careful not to touch his face. However, the peanut allergy kicked in anyway and Carter developed hives. Hives that were still present even as Carter told his mom about the situation.
“I think the hardest part was, one, it was his teammate. You know, you have this brotherhood and football, and it was disappointing that it was his teammate,” Shawna explained, further noting that Carter’s teammates knew about his peanut allergy beforehand. “A couple of teammates on his varsity football team were asking about his allergy to peanuts and asked if it could kill him. ‘He said yes, it absolutely could.’” She added.
Taking the Matter Further
Dissatisfied with how the school handled the situation, deeming it not an act of bullying, Shawna went to the Lake Travis school board for an explanation. While the other players were reprimanded for their actions, Shawna believes that the consequences were “minimal,” explaining that life for Carter has been challenging since the event occurred. “Since this incident, my son has faced backlash and retaliation almost daily.” She explained.
Interestingly, Carter isn’t the only member of his family to be harassed since the peanuts were put into his locker. As it turns out, his older sister has also been relentlessly heckled. “There have been kids on the team that have created fake accounts on Instagram,” Shawna shared. “They have been so horrible and nasty to her.”
Moreover, the district of Lake Travis has seemingly faced several unhappy parents, with hundreds of complaints filed. Yet only a fraction has been taken before the TEA‘s “compliance review unit.” Which then led the agency to require changes be made to the policies regarding the physical and mental safety and well-being of students. According to the TEA bulling is “an act or pattern of acts that physically harms a student or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm to the student’s person. Or of damage to the student’s property; is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive enough that the action or threat creates an intimidating, threatening, or abusive educational environment for a student. Or materially disrupts the educational process.”
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Experience with a Peanut Allergy
Arguably, that’s precisely what happened to Carter because his peanut allergy could be fatal, and those involved in the prank knew that detail beforehand. It’s interesting to see how the law, like everything else, has transformed over time. It’s likely that if this event took place a few years ago, the teammates involved could’ve faced much harsher consequences. Maybe even, the possibility of being charged with manslaughter, if Carter hadn’t been able to keep his peanut allergy under control.
Shawna explained that the reason for the ruling was in part due to the fact that there were not long term or visible physical implications. “When they interviewed my son, they said he didn’t ‘look bullied.’ ” Said she.
Representative’s Response
In response to the event, the district explained that members of the board were working with local law enforcement to determine the severity of the situation. The police department explained that “criminal charges weren’t warranted.” Sadly, finding peanuts in his locker isn’t the only situation in which Carter has had to address his peanut allergy. “The kid would flick him as he’s walking down the hall from behind. There was a lot of verbal retaliation … There was one point where someone in the locker room put a peanut butter granola bar in his backpack.” Shawna stated, explaining in more detail about why she believes the events should be considered bullying.
According to a representative for the school district, “Under the Texas Education Code, bullying is a very specific behavior, and is defined as an act or pattern of acts that physically harms a student or materially and substantially disrupts the educational process. Upon concluding our investigation, it was determined that the legal elements of bullying were not met. However, in many instances, even if the legal elements of bullying are not met, the district addresses behaviors that do not meet expectations in policy or programs.”
The representative also claims that investigations were conducted “immediately after the incident.” However, it wasn’t investigated as a bullying incident until the parent of one of the students involved reported it as such in November 2023. After hearing the parent’s concerns, campus administration reached out to the parent regarding potential bullying.
The United States has seen an increase in bullying recently, mainly revolving around social media platforms. Sadly, in an instance like this, someone less informed than Carter may not have been able to successfully fight their peanut allergy.
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