School officials claim that the smell is so strong that it disrupts classes

Apr 3, 2013 12:45 GMT  ·  By
An elementary school from Washington County, Tennessee has sent a student home 24 times over complaints of foul body odor
   An elementary school from Washington County, Tennessee has sent a student home 24 times over complaints of foul body odor

A second grade student from Washington County, Tennessee has incurred 24 one-day suspensions over a foul body odor that she gives out.

Teachers, students and school officials agree that the smell has become a disruption and have sent her home on repeated occasions.

According to WSAV, counselors have tried asking the child about her hygiene, and have discovered that she takes baths very rarely and often uses the clothes she wears in school to sleep in.

“Did not bathe yesterday or today, Could not remember the last time she took a bath, and sleeps in clothes,” one of the letters sent to her family reads.

However, the girl's mother, Krystal Hensley responds that she does bathe her daughter and that she has even consulted a doctor, without managing to get to the bottom of things.

“She's been to the doctor and it's not a medical problem. They send her home at least once a month, I mean, you go to school to learn, not to be sent home.

“She makes good grades, I mean, that’s not the problem, problem is you can’t learn if you’re not at school,” Hensley tells WTVR.

While the Department of Children Services has been consulted in the past, they are not currently investigating the issue.

Director of Schools for Washington County, Ron Dykes comments that, although suspending the student might sound excessive, the measure is only enforced in cases in which it appears to be the only option.

“When children appear to be dirty or have excessive body odor generally the teacher will have a conference with the child or ask the nurse or guidance counselor to discuss the issue with the parent to determine the possible cause.

“In those cases, they are very extreme and to be quite frank the odor is so overpowering and extremely offensive to other children and adults so some sort of home bound program is used or the child will be removed temporarily from the school until the family complies,” Dykes says.