Replies

I believe that parents have authority over their children. This rule allows parents to exercise that authority, without the state unecessarily interfering with liberty.

Children could bring snacks, they simply were not allowed to sell them to other children.

Maybe my child has diabetes, and I’m just starting to work on getting their diet in shape. Even grown adults have trouble controlling what they eat, so a 14-year-old may find it very difficult. I can control what they eat at home by not buying any candy. And if the school has a no-sales policy for candy, that allows me to send my child to school.

But if you allow other students to sell candy to my child, it removes my parental authority and control.

If the STATE was imposing their view of child-rearing on the parents (as they OFTEN do), that would be an “authoritarian statist” position. In this PARTICULAR instance, they are not. The child in question could bring his own skittles to school, and eat all he wanted. He simply could not purchase them from another child.

BTW, even if the school sold candy, parents might prefer they not allow students to sell food items to other students. Who knows what could have been done to that food item.

Now, in MY case, I don’t need the school to enforce too many rules. But my school doesn’t allow kids to have sex at school, and I am VERY happy they both HAVE the rule, and enforce it. I guess some people would complain THAT was an authoritarian statist position, but if you want to let kids have sex tell them to do it at your house.