How does your school approach nut/food allergies?

[C99]

For my own research, I am interested in what elementary (K-6 & up) schools do in terms of food allergies in the classroom/school. I am less interested in what it's like in your preschool or daycare situation, since daycare is all day and preschool-aged children are not as cognizant of their own (or others) food allergies as elementary-school aged kids. With that disclaimer/request out of the way, I am interested in what kinds of concessions/protections your child's school makes for children with food allergies. How restrictive is the policy? Or how far does it stretch -- does it apply to teachers and staff, or just students? Does the school have safe zones within the building? How do they handle lunch/snacks?

ETA: In your response, can you clarify whether your child goes to public, private or parochial school?

[egoldber]

Sarah's school does a few things.

If your kid needs an epi-pen, they keep it in the nurse's office. All meds are required to be kept there, the kids are not allowed to have them themselves. I suspect they would allow one to be kept in the classroom by the teacher.

In the cafeteria, they have marked peanut free tables.

For the classroom, they send home a note at the beginning of the year if there is a food allergic child. They don't say who, of course, but they say what the allergy is. If your child is FA, they ask you to send in non-perishable snacks for the teacher to keep in the room in case snacks sent in are not suitable.

But by and large they expect the kids to know their allergens and monitor themselves.

The most common allergen at her school that I have seen is wheat. Last year there were two children in her classroom allergic to wheat.

Just based on my observations of (most) people's lack of awareness of forethought, if my kid had a severe FA, NO WAY would I allow them to eat any snack brought in by ANY parent.

[bubbaray]

If there is a peanut/treenut allergic child in the school, the whole school is nut free. I've got mixed feelings about this (as the parent of a peanut allergic DD#2 and a treenut allergic DD#1). From what our allergist tells us, this is overkill, especially in the older Elementary school grades.

AFAIK (DD#1 starts K this coming September), the children bring their own snacks and lunches. IIRC, they have food days periodically and I'm not sure how those are dealt with, but its not an everyday thing. I don't think there are school breakfast or lunch programs at our school, but I could be wrong. My kids wouldn't qualify for them anyway.

Beth, the current best practice is for the child to wear the epipen on them AT ALL TIMES. This is what our allergist requires -- the epipen is always with the allergic child (not in the office, not in the child's pack, WORN on the child). A second pen may be with the teacher or in the office. I have discussed this with the school and with a written letter from the dr, they are fine with that.

In the early grades (up to G3), I plan on providing lunches and snacks and having a box of acceptable shelf-stable treats available (Rice Krispie squares, for example -- the classrooms don't have fridges AFAIK).

ETA: DD#2 has fish anaphylaxis, but I'm less worried about that as the years go by. Her RAST numbers are going down (good thing) and in our school's area, many of the children are vegetarian. I'm hoping that means there are fewer kids who will bring fish sandwiches or fish soup to school.

[MelissaTC]

I know I have said this on here before but Matthew's school and entire campus is a complete nut free zone, including the playground and sports fields. The principal had a daughter but a year younger than me that died at 19 from a severe allergic reaction and feels that no family should go through what they did. Kids with epi pens have special med packs that look like fanny packs that hang in the classroom. When they travel through the school buildings, they bring them with them.

[Corie]

If your kid needs an epi-pen, they keep it in the nurse's office. All meds are required to be kept there, the kids are not allowed to have them themselves.

In the cafeteria, they have marked peanut free tables.

Our elementary school does the above things as well.

Plus, we have a designated peanut-free classroom in each grade.

Also, we are not allowed to bring in any home-made treats for the classroom.
Everything brought in must be purchased commercially so that the food label
can be read with allergen information. This pertains to every student at our
school, not just peanut-free classrooms.

I'm sure that I am forgetting something. I am very happy with how our
school district handles food allergies.

[lfp2n]

DDs school (Public Elem) seems pretty lax, there is one kid in her class with FA to eggs. But from what I can see is there are no restrictions on food coming in, parents bring homemade/store bought cupcakes for every birthday, we are never told NOT to bring in certain items.
DD told me the egg-allergic kid's birthday was yesterday and they had special cupcakes his mum made without eggs, which is why it all came up, and I asked her what he normally gets and she said the teacher has some animal cookies.
There is no peanut free area in the cafeteria and once a week those yuck (IMO!) PB and J Lunchables are on the B menu.

So I'm wondering if there are any peanut allergic children in the school and where they eat, it seems likely in a school of 300 kids there would be someone. It all seems very strange.
All meds have to be in the nurses office, Im not sure if you can get a dispensation with a letter.

[Asianmommy]

My daughter's classroom itself is nut-free because she has a classmate who is allergic to nuts. The lunchroom has no restrictions. This is a public school.

[almostamom]

DS is in preschool, but attends a public K-8 school. If there is a child with a nut allergy, that classroom is nut-free. There is a nut-free table in the cafeteria. There is a small poster in every classroom identifying each child with allergies (with parent approval). I don't know what other parents request, but the following is some of what I have requested for my son:

Medication is kept in the nurse's office AND in DS' classroom (this includes the Epi-Pen and Benadryl). The teacher or an aide must have his meds with them at all times (playground, library, etc.) I was at school for a fire drill one day. The teacher immediately grabbed her class list, emergency kit, and DS' meds.

Everyone who enters DS' classroom must immediately wash their hands.

All adults who work with DS must be trained in how to administer the Epi-Pen.

A letter is to be sent to the parents in the classroom advising them that there is a child with a nut allergy and that the classroom is nut-free. (The teacher includes a reminder in every note home prior to a party. That was her idea!)

Everything I asked for was accepted without question. All of it is included in his IEP. If he did not have an IEP, I would have insisted on a 504. These accommodations will continue when he is in kindergarten if he goes to school there. There is a private, parochial school (K-8) in our neighborhood that is completely nut-free. DS will most likely attend that school, at least for his early elementary years, simply for the reason that they are so diligent about having a completely nut-free environment.

Linda

[egoldber]

Beth, the current best practice is for the child to wear the epipen on them AT ALL TIMES. This is what our allergist requires -- the epipen is always with the allergic child (not in the office, not in the child's pack, WORN on the child). A second pen may be with the teacher or in the office. I have discussed this with the school and with a written letter from the dr, they are fine with that.

I'm just communicating what the school's policy is.

[octmom]

My kids are at a private school that has preschool starting at age two and goes through upper elementary. (Mine are both in preschool classes.) The entire school is nut-free, however they lease the space from an athletic club and some of it (arena, a few classrooms, indoor playground, outdoor playground, and turf field) is used by an afterschool program and on weekends for birthday parties, etc. arranged through the club that owns the space. As far as I know, those programs are NOT nut-free, so there could easily be residue in those common areas.

The school has an allergy committee that includes parents of kids with allergies. They have to approve anything that is to be brought in to school and shared. Homemade items are not permitted for sharing. The committee chooses specific products and brands. Teachers are pretty careful about observing what kids have in their lunchboxes and will send items with nuts back home with a standard reminder note. The school keeps a supply of safe snacks to substitute if they have to confiscate something with nuts. One of the teachers remarked to me once that she had to think twice about her own lunch, so I assume the nut-free policy applies to them too.

FWIW, they do teach even the young ones not to share food. DD (almost three) has told me that it is not a good idea to share snacks and that her teachers have told her this.

ETA: I have noticed epi-pens in labeled fanny packs and I have seen the teachers carrying them from place to place in the school.