No more tag or touch football for the students at Armatage Elementary in south Minneapolis.

The school now has an official "no touch" policy.

Originally the rule, circulated to parents Thursday, banned even casual touching such as hand-holding and hugging.

But Principal Joan Franks has now refined the policy to target aggressive and "unsafe" behavior such as play-fighting, pushing and shoving. And tag.

Some parents are not happy.

Nan Carlson, a mother of two children who attend Armatage Elementary, said it is "ridiculous" -- both overly politically correct and hard to enforce.

"I think [Franks] has the best interests of the children in mind," she said. "But this one came out of the blue, and it's just kind of weird."

While Minneapolis Public Schools do not have a "no touch" policy, Franks said she took action after receiving numerous complaints from students and parents about children being touched aggressively. She said she has received mostly positive feedback from parents.

Without a firm rule barring touching, it is difficult for staff to determine whether students' behavior is fun or threatening, said Franks, who has been principal at Armatage for 10 years.

"Since we cannot have different rules for different children, I have shared with many of the classrooms today [and the rest tomorrow] that touching in any form is no longer acceptable while in school," she wrote to parents on Thursday in an e-mail.

Explaining to parents

In a follow-up e-mail the same day, she said casual touching, such as hand-holding, would be allowed, and further explained her motivations:

"Unfortunately, we live in a time when actions although honorable can be misconstrued and before you know it, the situation gets out of hand. We want our students to learn how to get along with others as well as learn that there are boundaries that if encroached can feel offensive and even scary."

In an interview Friday, Franks said: "We want to make sure every child has an equal opportunity to play without the fear of being hurt. If I have to err, I will on the side of safety."

But Jamie Henriksen, a volunteer coordinator for the school's PTA for the past three years, said kids should not have to be afraid to play with each other.

She describes her two sons -- Jake, an 8-year-old second-grader, and Lucas, a 6-year-old kindergartner -- as playful boys who could be hugging each other one minute and wrestling the next.

And they're no different than other kids who like to play outside.

No more freeze tag?

"The hardest place to supervise is the playground. There's kids running around everywhere," Henriksen said in a telephone interview. "They could trip, get hit accidentally with a tetherball or by a jump rope. Things happen.

"But if a kid should be afraid of another kid on the playground, then there's a bigger issue that needs to be addressed."

During the conversation, she asked her son Lucas what the school told him about playing tag.

"You shouldn't do it," Lucas replied.

But do you like to play tag? she asked him.

"Yes," he said, before running off to play outside.

She then asked her nephew, A.J., 8, a second-grader at Armatage, who had two other siblings who also went there.

"I like to play freeze tag. It's my favorite, and now I can't play it," A.J. said, describing a game where once you're tagged, you have to stop until a non-tagger touches you to unfreeze you. The game promotes teamwork, Henriksen said.

Maybe, she suggested, there should be designated areas on the playground where kids who want to play those games can do so with extra supervision.

"The kids know you're not supposed to touch your friends inappropriately. You don't tackle them. You don't hit them," Henriksen said.

But, she added, "Kids play. Kids get hurt."

Franks said she understands that, but doesn't think the policy is all that unusual. She said nearby Burroughs Elementary has had a similar policy in place for years.

Burroughs Principal Tim Cadotte said he hasn't had an incident during his nearly 10 years in charge of the school. He said with its "no rough play" rule being in place for so long, "our kids, they get it."

Carlson -- whose daughter Paige is a fifth-grader and son Joey is a first-grader at Armatage -- believes there should have been more parental say in the policy before it was implemented.

Discipline for one, or all?

"It sort of punishes the entire student body for the behavior of a few students and flies in the face of holding individuals accountable for their behavior," she said.

"Discipline the child or children instead of making a blanket policy that is unrealistic. If it's playground misadventures, let's have some policies that are specific to that."

Henriksen said the rule isn't enough to make her transfer her kids.

"This is not a deal-breaker," she said. "We love this school. [Franks] is fabulous. But this is an easy way out for the school to not find more supervision."

Carlson said she will encourage her kids to follow the rule.

"As ridiculous as this one may be, it's the rule, and they have to follow it," Carlson said. "You have to follow them -- until you can change them."

Terry Collins • 612-673-1790