Balloon release breaks state law

School known for its focus on the environment

WESTON An elementary school that encourages environmental awareness broke state law and endangered wildlife when students at a pep rally released dozens of balloons with strings attached.

Florida law forbids releasing more than 10 balloons within a 24-hour period because they can kill a variety of animals that accidentally ingest them. Sea turtles, for example, eat the balloons when they mistake them for jellyfish and manatees eat them if the strings are caught in sea floor grasses, said Tom Reinert, regional director for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Yet a video tweeted by a teacher at Indian Trace Elementary in Weston showed the students releasing the metallic blue balloons during a PTA pep