Two years ago, Burleson school officials faced a perfect storm of food sensitivity: Bransom Elementary School on the city's southeast side had not one, not two, but 17 students across seven grades with severe peanut allergies.

The chances of isolating so many students from a random Reese's or peanut butter and jelly sandwich were small at best, and the consequences of failure could have been lethal.

"It was overwhelming," said Cathy Marsh, the district's director of nursing and health services. "That's a lot of students interacting with each other at very different times. We felt we couldn’t contain this problem."

That story is being played out nationally as the number of children diagnosed with potentially fatal peanut allergies increases and more parents call for an all-out ban on peanut products at school.

Read the complete story at the star-telegram.com