Ohio Schools and Food Allergies
Are Ohio Schools Protecting Students with Food Allergies?
Ohio parents send their children off to school believing that there are laws and procedures in place to keep their students safe throughout the school day. If your child has a food allergy, however, there are few procedures or guidelines, and only one law in place to protect your student.
What laws are in place?
According to the F.A.A.N. website, in 2006, Ohio enacted a law allowing students with the risk of a potentially deadly reaction known as anaphylaxis to begin carrying prescribed Epipens on their person during the school day. Anaphylaxis causes a person to have difficulty breathing, can cause swollen throat and lips and a drop in blood pressure1. Epipens can work to slow or stop this reaction, giving the individual time to seek medical treatment2.
The law regarding the carrying of Epipens is the only law relating to food allergies. But what else are schools supposed to do? Should carrying the life saving Epipens be considered enough? While this law is vital for students with food allergies, it does not address an important component of food allergy safety in schools; training and education for teachers and school employees.
What else can Ohio do to protect students with food allergies?
In 2006, Canada's Ontario Province enacted Sabrina's Law. This law, named for a teenager with a milk allergy who died after unknowingly ingesting french fries with milk in them, requires all schools to develop anaphylaxis reaction management plans. It also includes development of strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to allergens, and requires regular school employee training in this area3.
Only eight states have mandates for statewide guidelines to help schools create procedures for dealing with students with food allergies, with three more states working to pass legislation4. Ohio is not one of these states. A search of the Ohio Department of Education website reveals only one document that references food allergies, and it is a document for the review of early learning program guidelines5.
Knowledge, training, and education are the best weapons teachers and school employees can have when dealing with students with food allergies. Parents can help schools by supplying information and medical history, but the parents won't be at the school when a reaction occurs.
Until Ohio makes the effort to pass legislation mandating state-wide guidelines for schools to manage students with food allergies, the safety of many students will be at risk.
Citations:
1http://www.foodallergy.org/anaphylaxis/index.html
2http://www.epipen.com/epipen_main.aspx
3"Managing Food Allergies in School". Anne Munoz-Furling. Jan/Feb 2006. http://naesp.org/ContentLoad.do?contendId=1795.
Published by Jen Warner
I am a mother of two plus one stepdaughter, working full time. View profile
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- The only law in Ohio regarding food allergies allows students to legally carry their Epipens.
- Only eight states have legislation regarding food allergy management procedures for schools.