Build a Team

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Managing food allergy at school involves a team of individuals, including the school nurse, teachers, administrators, cafeteria staff, maintenance staff, transportation staff, coaches, other parents, and your child’s classmates.

In working with your team, recognize up front that some of the members might need additional time to learn about food allergy and the steps needed to avoid food allergens in the school setting. Actions that are second-nature to you, such as reading ingredient labels, may not be intuitive actions for others. Maintain an open dialogue with your team, characterized by calm, confident communication. Also, make yourself available to your team, and provide them with your contact information so they can call you with questions, suggestions, or concerns. Consider sharing with them a copy of the information sheet, “10 Facts About Food Allergy” (see Appendix 2).

Before the first day of school, try to meet with members of your team to

  • Introduce yourself and share information about your child.
  • Find out what they already know about food allergy.
  • Provide information on the basics (if necessary), clear up any misconceptions, and discuss the role team members have in managing your child’s food allergy.

Provide a copy of your child’s Food Allergy Action Plan to the team members who are most likely to come into contact with your child during the school day, and ask them to keep it in an easily accessible location.

Because of schedules, you may not be able to meet with all the school team members as a group. However, as soon as possible before the beginning of the school year (or prior to a school enrollment transfer), you should meet at least with your child’s teacher(s), who will have the most contact with your child throughout the school day.

You also should meet with the school nurse in order to discuss your child’s Food Allergy Action Plan, and any need for an additional type of written management plan. More common types of plans include:

  • An Individualized Healthcare Plan (IHP), which is recommended by the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) for students whose health care needs may affect their ability to attend school safely and perform academically.[1]
  • A 504 Plan[2], which applies to students who have a disability that affects their ability to participate fully, alongside their peers, in all regular facets of the school day. Children whose food allergy may result in severe, life-threatening reactions (in the opinion of the child’s licensed health care provider) meet the definition of disability under Section 504.[3] Each school should have a 504 Coordinator who can help you develop a 504 Plan.

An Individual Education Program (IEP), based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA addresses services for children in need of special education (i.e., children with conditions that impact their educational performance, such as hearing, vision or speech impairments, behavioral conditions, or autism). Children with food allergy alone generally do not qualify for an IEP; however, a child with food allergy also may have a co-existing condition that may warrant protection under IDEA. In this case, the food allergy and the co-existing condition are generally addressed through one IEP.

[1] NASN Position Statement on Individualized Healthcare Plans, available online at  http://www.nasn.org/PolicyAdvocacy/PositionPapersandReports/NASNPositionStatementsFullView/tabid/462/ArticleId/32/Individualized-Healthcare-Plans-IHP-Revised-2008.

[2] Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C. s.794 is a federal law designed to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities in programs and activities that receive federal funds from the U.S. Department of Education. Recipients of these funds include public school districts, along with other state and local educational agencies.

[3] Accommodating Children with Special Dietary Needs in the School Nutrition Programs. United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, Fall 2001. Available online at: www.fns.usda.gov/CND/Guidance/special_dietary_needs.pdf.