An elementary school teacher in Michigan allowed students to taste non-alcoholic beer during a history lesson earlier this month, ABC News reported.
According to Superintendent Ed Koledo, a class of 5th graders at Hyatt Elementary in Linden got a taste of O'Douls after a student brought it in on March 6. The student told the classmates that in the 1700s, many people drank beer because water some sometimes dirty or unhealthy.
"We talked to the teacher and said this was an inappropriate choice," Koledo said. "There were a lot better choices to represent a colonial-era drink than what was chosen here."
The teacher's name has not been released.
Koledo added that the kids were not forced to try the drink and acknowledged the incident as a mistake.
Parents were notified of the incident in a letter sent home on Friday, according to The Flint Journal. In the letter, school officials explained the teacher thought it was OK since the drink was non-alcoholic. Additionally, it said three students took a bottle home with them.
Though O'Douls is advertised as non-alcoholic, it contains a small amount of alcohol in it. Andrea Miller, a spokeswoman for the Liquor Control Commission, told the AP that handing out O'Douls or similar drinks to minors can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor in Michigan.
However, neither the teacher or other school officials have been charged in the incident.
Koledo described the teacher as a "very responsible person" who did not intend to harm the students. Additionally, the student who brought in the drink will not be disciplined.
"Nobody complained to the teacher, principal or me," Koledo said. "We monitored the situation the next day. It was a dead topic so we just left it at that."
