BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Is it segregation in Colorado?

Some parents in Broomfield said they are outraged over a school's decision to segregate certain students in the lunchroom.

Meridian Elementary in Broomfield is separating two groups of students in the cafeteria. Students who eat hot lunches must sit in one section and students who eat cold lunches must sit in another section.

The school said they have an unusually large number of kids with peanut and other food allergies and they said they think it's important to separate some students for their own safety.

Some of the kids and their parents said they feel it's discrimination.

Of the 600 students attending the school, 18 are allergic to peanuts.

"We've only been doing this for five days and so far it's been going very well," Marilyn Jerde of Adams 12 Five Star Schools. "We don't know what kind of lunches the kids from home are bringing, like peanut butter bars."

Because peanut oil can be deadly for some with severe peanut allergies, those who pack a lunch must dump their lunches in designated trash cans and wash their hands immediately after eating. With lunch being only 15 minutes long, school officials said this is the best, most efficient way to keep the allergen from spreading from the cafeteria to the playground and classrooms.

Some parents said the school must put the kids' health considerations first.

Other parents disagree and said it is segregation and argued that their kids can't sit with their friends.

"The feedback we have gotten is mostly around the social aspect," said Jerde. "We are trying to get them to understand that it is a great way to get them to make new friends."

Meridian Elementary is the only school in Adams 12 Five Star School District that has put the rule into effect. The district said it is going to look at the issue. They said they have seen more and more children with peanut allergies and if the number continues to increase, they may implement the rule in the future at other schools.