Family of student who ate a pretzel seasoned with oven cleaner at school files lawsuit: ‘They were pale, you could see them holding their stomachs’

A family has taken legal action against Fowler Middle School and the Tigard-Tualatin School District after a student ate a pretzel that had been topped with crushed oven cleaner. The suit seeks $950,220.85 and names the district, the school’s principal, and the kitchen leader.

The pretzels were served during a sixth-grade lunch period in October 2025 at the Tigard school. Staff had crushed Alto-Shaam oven cleaning tablets, placed them in a bag, and left the bag on a counter. Someone then used the contents as seasoning on the pretzels, a parent later explained.

Kaylee Spiering, whose 11-year-old son ate one of the pretzels, described what she saw when she arrived at the school. According to KPTV, she said, “There were kids crying. There were ones that looked worse. They were pale, you could see them holding their stomachs.”

Lawsuit details and school response after the lunch incident

Court documents list seven claims against the district, principal, and kitchen leader. Those claims include strict liability, negligence, unlawful confinement, and civil rights violations. The case has not yet gone to trial, and the district has said it will not comment on the ongoing litigation. Schools facing angry parents over student safety is not new, as seen when families were furious over a school’s weather decision.

The filing states that the student, identified as L.L., felt “burning” in his mouth and throat after eating the pretzel. It also says he developed an upset stomach, chest pain, and anxiety about eating food provided by the school. According to the lawsuit, L.L. was held in a room for almost an hour, was not allowed to call his parents, and was returned to class while still feeling unwell.

Spiering said the school did not notify her until nearly 1:30 p.m. By then she had already spoken with her son, picked him up, and driven him to urgent care as a precaution. She reported that he had a burning throat, headaches, and stomach pain. Her son has since chosen to skip school lunches, and she has said she wants the district to outline steps that will keep a similar incident from happening again.

School staff served 37 pretzels before the contamination was noticed. Principal Cindy Pellicci sent an email that day stating, “All families whose students reported eating all or part of a pretzel were contacted individually. If you were contacted today and your student is continuing to experience symptoms, call poison control and contact your medical provider or call 911.” Nursing staff monitored the students who had eaten the pretzels.

According to Dexerto, the Oregon Poison Center advised that the oven cleaner can cause a burning sensation or vomiting if a significant amount is swallowed. Students were told to rinse their mouths with water, eat bland foods such as a granola bar or bread, and watch for symptoms over the next 24 hours. The center received 20 calls connected to the incident within a single day. Other districts have faced similar scrutiny, such as when a school promised a review after a pool incident.

Spiering described the sequence that led to the pretzels being contaminated: “How they put it was they were crushing up the oven cleaning tablets. After they crushed it up, they put it into a bag. That bag was left on the counter, and someone mistook it for salt to put on the pretzels.”

School officials later attributed the event to “human error.” Tigard Police worked with the district through a school resource officer and said they did not believe any criminal intent was involved; the case was closed after that determination. Administrators have stated that student safety and health remain their top priority.