Joliet Montessori School
Policy for Management of Life-threatening Food Allergies
Joliet Montessori School’s Nut-Aware Policy
JMS strives to be a safe school for all of our students including our students who have a life-threatening food allergy. Towards this goal, we have adopted a nut-aware environment. We will work with our students and their parents to understand that nuts should not be brought to school for lunch, snacks, or other celebrations. This includes items that contain ingredients made with nut oils and butters. We request that all parents support our students by keeping all nut products at home. Teachers will work with students to establish good hand washing and classroom maintenance standards. School administration has further defined the school’s efforts toward this goal by adopting the following school-wide action plan.
Overview
The Illinois Board of Education has amended the Illinois School Code to offer guidelines to schools for the management of students with life-threatening food allergies. These guidelines include education and training for school personnel, procedures for responding to life-threatening situations, implementation of action plans to minimize risks and exposures, and the ability for these students to have an individualized health care plan and/or a 504 Plan to prevent exposures to food allergens. All public schools were required to implement a policy based upon these guidelines by January 1, 2011.
Joliet Montessori School (JMS) has developed the following policies based upon the best practices indentified by Illinois Board of Education as noted in the 2010 Guidelines for Managing Life Threatening Food Allergies in Illinois Schools. JMS, herein, acknowledges and appreciates the guidance offered by the Illinois Board of Education for their leadership in this important challenge facing children.
Introduction
Food allergies have increased dramatically since 1988; approximately 4 percent of children between the ages of birth and 18 are affected by food allergies. JMS’s student body has the same proportion of students affected as these national records document. These allergies have the possibility of developing into life-threatening circumstances quickly with serious potential outcomes. Further, JMS also seeks to respect the emotional, as well as the physical needs, of all of its students. Therefore, creating an environment where all students feel safe and free from potential threats guides our school in these policies.
Schools represent a high-risk setting for accidental exposure to food allergens. Procedures should be in place to address a variety of activities including classroom projects, snacks, field trips, before and after school activities.
Avoidance is the key to preventing reactions. The most common food allergies are milk, eggs, and peanuts. Other common allergens include wheat, soy, fish, shellfish, and tree nuts.
Best Practices
All students with food allergies who have given reasonable notice of the allergies to JMS will have an Emergency Action Plan written for them specifically to help the students feel accepted and safe within the school community. The plan will focus upon steps that the school will take. The plan will also offer guidance to the student and his/her family about how to ask for help and work together with the school to keep them safe within a caring community. It is JMS’s hope that this proactive plan will help the student’s self-esteem and confidence while supporting their ability to be a self-advocate for their condition. This policy is designed to support the development of healthy, strong friendships and social skills.
Parents, who are raising children with life-threatening food allergies, are challenged to keep their children safe within a world that can be potentially dangerous for their child. They are dependent upon their child’s school to be an active member of their team in this endeavor.
Recommended Documentation
JMS will develop the following forms recommended by the Illinois Board of Education to document the needs of students with life-threatening food allergens:
- Emergency Action Plan (EAP)
- Individual Health Care Plan
- 504 Plan
- Allergy History Form
- Medical Alert to Parents/Guardians
Characteristics of Allergic Reactions
There is a wide variety of reactions that range from mild to severe: Here is a brief synopsis:
- Hives
- Itching
- Runny nose
- Diarrhea
- Stomach cramps
- Change of voice
- Coughing
- Wheezing
- Throat tightness or closing
- Swelling of any part of the body
- Red, watery eyes
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty breathing
- Sense of doom
Children, especially young children, may not have the ability to express their difficulty and may demonstrate a reaction by crying, screaming, or reporting that the food is too hot, spicy, feels stuck or funny.
General Considerations
Each situation is unique to the individual; therefore, the Individual Health Care Plan must be specific to each student. We must guard against asking them to compromise their individual plans for any reason, as well as become aware of any signs of exclusion, bullying, or anxiety. Since young children are more prone to putting their hands in their mouths, it is also important that the school environment be allergen free. This may require specific cleaning with cleaners that contain bleach. Non-bleach cleaners are not effective in allergen removal.
Accidents have a particularly high probability around celebrations and holidays. Any unplanned event has a high risk of accidental exposures. It is important that all personnel is aware of each student’s EAP, IHCP, and/or 504 plan. Unfortunately, research shows that accidental food exposures do occur in school settings even with the best laid plans. All complaints of allergic reactions will be taken seriously at JMS to the best of our ability.
Maintenance of a Safe Environment for Students with Food Allergies
Each year the school will assemble a multi-disciplinary team to manage our students’ health needs. This will include all administrative staff, teachers, classroom assistance, before and after care workers, janitors, and the Facility Management Committee.
The following steps will be taken prior to the start up of school each year and amended as needed to assure individual student’s safety.
Joliet Montessori School will:
- Maintain a Master List of all students who have a life-threatening food allergy that identifies the allergen and each student’s Individual Health Care Plan and/or 504 Plan.
- Request that parents view the contents of all snacks and cleaning products to eliminate allergens brought into the school for consumption and/or use by students and staff.
- Train staff in all procedures necessary for avoidance of food allergens and execution of emergency response plan for students’ accidental exposure to food allergens. Training will include the following:
- How to recognize symptoms of an allergic reaction
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Review of high-risk areas and situations (celebrations)
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Steps to prevent exposure to allergens
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How to respond to an emergency
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How to administer an epinephrine auto-injector
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How to respond to students with known allergy as well as a student with a previously unknown allergy
- Conduct medical emergency response drills twice a year. The first shall be at the beginning of the school year and the other just after winter break.
- Remind parents of all students to be aware of food allergies present in the school that need to be avoided as part of classroom celebrations, parties, crafts, and projects.
- Establish cleaning procedures for all areas of the school to prevent cross-contamination of food allergens.
- Enforce policies to assure that the students’ school environment is allergen free to the best of our ability.
- Notify parents with children who have a life-threatening food allergy that JMS does not have the ability to have a registered nurse as part of our emergency response team. JMS will designate school personnel to assist their child during an accidental exposure of a food allergen. The Office Manager will be the Designated School Personnel for the implementation of the child’s EAP, IHCP, and/or 504.
Guidelines for Implementation can be found here.