New Orleans Times-Picayune

Alcohol detected in Jell-O snacks
But gelatin could have fermented in time between discovery, testing
Saturday, December 11, 2004
By Rob Nelson
West Bank bureau

The Jell-O snacks brought to school by a 9-year-old Terrytown girl, who
was suspended for violating the school district's drug policy, tested
positive for alcohol, but it is unclear whether liquor or fermentation
of the gelatin yielded those results, Jefferson Parish School Board
President Gene Katsanis said Friday.

Because the gelatin was not refrigerated between the time it was taken
from the child Nov. 29 and when it was tested this week by the Jefferson
Parish Sheriff's Office, it is no longer in a state where it can be
tested again to see if the concoction initially contained alcohol,
Katsanis said.

"That is unknown and will never be known," he said. "It will always
remain a mystery."

Breaking with authorities' refusal earlier this week to release the
test results because of student confidentiality laws, Katsanis said he
had not seen the results but got the information from school system
officials.

The Jell-O sat in the principal's office at Geraldine Boudreaux
Elementary School from Nov. 29, the day the fourth-grade girl was
suspended, until Dec. 6, when the snacks were taken by the Sheriff's
Office, Katsanis said.

Jell-O officials could not be reached Friday to confirm if their
product can ferment, or break down chemically.

The district's elementary school officials are unaccustomed to dealing
with potential drug-related situations, which explains why the Jell-O
was not preserved and why a week passed before they turned the samples
over to authorities, Katsanis said.

Plus, he said, the test results did not matter because, under the
school system's policies dealing with "look-alike" drugs, the girl had
to be suspended whether the gelatin contained alcohol or not. The Jell-O
was in small plastic containers, resembling alcoholic concoctions
commonly known as "Jell-O shots."

The surprising disclosure of the test results caps off a highly charged
week in which the girl's mother, Adrienne Noble, and school officials
brokered the child's return to class Friday as the story grabbed
headlines nationwide.

The girl was suspended after officials found about 30 small, plastic
containers of Jell-O in her bookbag.

The district said she violated two parts of the drug policy, having a
"look-alike" drug on campus and intending to distribute it.

According to the district, the girl told school officials she brought
the snacks to school to sell them to raise money for Christmas and that
vodka and rum were present when Noble made the Jell-O at home.

Noble said her daughter told her she never said that and that there was
no alcohol around when the Jell-O was made. Her daughter wanted to share
the snacks with friends at the morning bus stop, Noble said.

At first, Noble objected to the system's readmittance policy that
mandates an assessment and counseling for the student and parent as well
as a hair test to make sure the student is drug-free. That policy is
unfair because the Jell-O did not contain alcohol, Noble said.

On Thursday, though, she met with system officials and agreed to follow
the re-entry policy, allowing her daughter to return to school Friday.
Noble said a compromise, including tutoring for her daughter and a
chance to make up missed work, helped sway her decision, though the
school system has not confirmed those details. The readmittance
provisions must be completed by Dec. 21.

Earlier Thursday, the Sheriff's Office, which tested four of 27 Jell-O
containers, released the results to the school system but would not
comment on the case because it involves a juvenile. School system
administrators also refused to provide details, saying they could not
legally divulge the results because they are part of a student's
confidential discipline record.

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