STUARTS DRAFT, Va. (AP) — An Augusta County fifth grader is fighting a policy that denies students the right to use lip balm.

Grace Karaffa gathered hundreds of signatures from students at Stuarts Draft Elementary in support of ending the ban. She went before the school board earlier this month.

The News Leader (http://bit.ly/1AK4v18) reports the board and central office have taken the request and petition under advisement.

Assistant superintendent George Earhart says the ban is aimed at avoiding the spread of germs among classmates. School nurses are allowed to administer lip balm to students with a doctors’ note. Parents also are allowed to administer it.

In middle and high school, students can carry a day’s supply of all over-the-counter medications.

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