FUSD asks students and staff to go fragrance free this school year

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno Unified is asking their students and staff to go fragrance-free this school year.

This means no strongly scented personal care items, cleaning supplies or even air fresheners.

"We have a lot of people who have allergies and not just students," said FUSD Director of Health Services Jane Banks. "There are employees as well that are a little more sensitive to scents, so we're trying to make an environment that's friendly for them."

This summer, Fresno Unified adopted the new resolution, after employees and students were having some side effects from the variety of scents on campus.

"Fragrances can cause headaches, migraines," added Banks. "They can also cause difficulty concentrating and it can also trigger asthma as well as allergies."

The district is doing something about it. The new initiative asks students and staff to refrain from using any scented items and is also focused on educating students through posters and discussions about how these kinds of scents can harm some students health.

"For our students, now it's a safer learning environment because now they can concentrate without having to worry about is this scent going to trigger my asthma or am I going to have allergies because of this?" said Banks.

Staff says it's still early in the semester, but students and staff with severe allergies are already noting the difference.