SCHOOL and CAMP ISSUES
New Laws Passed in 2009!
Ohio and Illinois have now joined a growing list of states to enact legislation calling for the creation of food allergy management guidelines for schools.
In Ohio, a provision of House Bill 1, an enormous state budget bill, calls on the board of education of each city, local and vocational school district, along with the governing authority of each charter school, to establish a written food allergy management policy. The provision states that the policy is to be developed in consultation with parents, school nurses, other school employees, school volunteers, students, and community members.
In Illinois, House Bill 281 calls on the State Board of Education, in conjunction with the State Department of Public Health, to establish a committee of experts that will develop food allergy management guidelines for schools, and will then make the guidelines available to each school board no later than July 1, 2010. Each school board, then, will implement their own policy, based on the guidelines, no later than January 1, 2011.
Legislation signed into law in Missouri calls on t he Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, in cooperation with any appropriate professional association, to develop a model food allergy management policy by July, 2010. Each school district would then be required to adopt their own policy on allergy prevention and response by July, 2011, with priority given to addressing potentially deadly food-borne allergies.
In Colorado, Senate Bill 226 was signed into law by Governor Ritter during Food Allergy Awareness Week. The new law calls on the State Board of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Public Health and Environment, to promulgate rules for the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis among public school students. The law also calls on the State Charter School Institute, along with each school district board of education, to adopt and implement a policy for the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis among students. All these requirements should be completed by July 1, 2010.
In Maryland, House Bill 26 was signed into law by Governor O'Malley shortly after Food Allergy Awareness Week. The new law calls on public school principals in that state to consult with a school health professional andmonitor strategies at the school designed to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in the classrooms and common areas. The strategies are to be in accordance with the Maryland State School Health Service Guideline, published in January, 2006.
In Kansas, HB.2008 was approved by the Governor in April. The new law allows any accredited school in that state to obtain an epinephrine kit from a licensed pharmacist, and to maintain the kit at school. The epinephrine could then be used in emergency anaphylactic situation that occurs at school, on school property, or at school-sponsored events.
Legislation has been passed in Georgia, Connecticut, and Lousiana that would allow students, with parental and physician consent, to carry their prescribed epinephrine while at school.
A new law in Texas calls for the creation of an online resource for teachers who have students with special health needs, including food allergy.
Other Legislation Being Considered in 2009
Legislation calling for the creation of statewide guidelines for managing students with food allergies is also being considered in Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Legislation that would allow students, with appropriate consent, to carry their prescribed epinephrine at school is being considered in New York & Pennsylvania.
For information on helping pass any of this legislation, please send an email to cweiss@foodallergy.org
Carrying Prescribed Epinephrine at School
Below are the states that now have laws or regulations allowing students to carry, and potentially self-administer, their prescribed epinephrine at school (with year of enactment in parentheses):
| Alaska (2005) |
Louisiana (2009) |
Oklahoma (2008) |
| Arizona (2005) |
Maine (2004) |
Rhode Island (1998) |
| Arkansas (2005) |
Maryland (2005) |
South Carolina (2005) |
| California (2004) |
Massachusetts (1993) |
Tennessee (2005) |
| Colorado (2005) |
Michigan (2004) |
Texas (2006) |
| Connecticut (2009) |
Minnesota (2004) |
Utah (2008) |
| Delaware (2003) |
Missouri (2006) |
Vermont (2008) |
| District of Columbia (2007) |
Montana (2005) |
Virginia (2005) |
| Florida (2005) |
Nebraska (2006) |
Washington (2005) |
| Georgia (2009) |
Nevada (2005) |
West Virginia (2004) |
| Hawaii (2004) |
New Hampshire (2003) |
Wyoming (2007) |
| Idaho (2008) |
New Jersey (2001) |
|
| Illinois (2006) |
New Mexico (2005) |
|
| Indiana (2001) |
North Carolina (2005) |
|
| Iowa (2004) |
North Dakota (2005) |
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| Kansas (2005) |
Ohio (2006) |
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| Kentucky (2004) |
Oregon (2007) |
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OTHER SCHOOL ISSUES
Statewide Guidelines for Schools
Statewide guidelines to help schools manage students with food allergies have now been published in Arizona, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
School Lunch Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the federal body that oversees the national school lunch program, has aguidance document entitled Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs.
In this document, the USDA recommends that children with life-threatening food allergies be given a safe substitute meal, based on instructions from the child’s physician.
Schools and the Law
It is generally accepted that children with life-threatening food allergies are considered disabled under federal civil rights laws, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Section504 is overseen by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office for Civil Rights. The ADA is overseen by the U.S. Department of Justice.
CAMP-RELATED ISSUES
A recent law in Maine calls for personnel supervising municipal recreational programs to be trained to administer an epinephrine autoinjector. This law should help ensure the safety of children who participate in summer recreational programs in that state.
Illinois, Maine, Michigan, and New Hampshire have recently enacted laws that help ensure that epinephrine is readily accessible to children attending recreational camps.
Questions or comments? Send an e-mail to cweiss@foodallergy.org
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