10 Things Schools Should Do

1. Identify key personnel. Identify your school and/or district 504 Coordinator(s). Ensure staff members refer inquiring parents to the correct employee in a timely manner. Parents are becoming increasingly educated about their children’s rights. “I don’t know what a 504 is,” and “I don’t think food allergies qualify” will not cut it anymore.
2. Schedule April meetings (or earlier). Schedule 504/IHCP meetings well in advance of the new school year. Give parents ample time to draft their supporting documents, gather physician input, and obtain physician signatures. Staff members should be thoroughly familiar with a student’s supporting documents before school starts. Encourage parents to provide:

• Drafts of Individual Health Care Plan (IHCP or IHP), 504 Plan, or both when necessary. 
• Emergency Action Plan (EAP).
• Self-Carry Authorization signed by physician. Reacquaint yourself with your state’s self-carry laws if necessary.

3. Support self-carrying. How long can you hold your breath? No really, try it. During anaphylaxis every second counts. Encourage parents to have their child self-carry their epinephrine auto-injector and support parents who already choose to do so. No child should ever have to watch someone running away from them when they need help. Be aware that at least two doses should be carried at all times. A second dose may be needed if the reaction is very severe and the first dose given is inadequate, or if the auto-injector is faulty.
4. Never expect a student to self-diagnose or self-treat anaphylaxis. Do not rely on the student to identify anaphylaxis or self-administer medication. No matter what their age or self-carry status. They may or may not be able to even “ask” for help. Here is how a child might describe symptoms. Know who your allergy kids are and pay attention, particularly during and after eating/handling food. Plan, prepare, and train staff to identify and treat anaphylaxis.
5. Drill, baby, drill. Use emergency drills to increase preparedness. Ensure staff members are familiar with each food-allergic student’s supporting documents. Details are crucial; proper procedure is vital. There should be a high level of automaticity in your emergency management and that can be achieved only through dedicated practice. Drill.
6. Schedule snack and lunch breaks after recess. Although anaphylaxis may occur at the first bite of an allergen, or even several hours after, reactions generally begin within 5 to 60 minutes of an exposure. Exercise may provoke or worsen anaphylaxis. In the event of a reaction, better the student be in or near a classroom than out on the far end of the playground or ball field.
7. Food-free celebrations, please! Implement a policy of healthy, child-centric, food-free celebrations at school. No exceptions. School is about learning, not eating. A food-free celebration policy helps your school live up to it’s obligation to minimize as much risk as possible, maximize inclusion for all, and promote positive lifestyle choices that reduce health risks and improve learning. A food-free celebration policy will dovetail nicely into your school’s Wellness Policy.
8. Remember cafeterias? Provide a non-classroom eating area and see to it that all eating is done there. Reserve classrooms as safe, learning-only space. Amply staff eating areas with staff members trained to identify and treat anaphylaxis. Ensure that eating areas are well ventilated, have running water, and are stocked with cleaning agents known to remove food protein from surfaces, e.g., Formula 409®, Lysol® Sanitizing Wipes, and Target brand® cleaner with bleach.
9. Classroom and cafeteria hygiene. Have qualified custodial staff (not students) clean with detergents known to remove food proteins. Clean all eating areas, classrooms, labs, libraries, bathrooms, water fountains, and playground equipment thoroughly at regular intervals. Keep in mind that classrooms used as eating areas will need daily cleaning. That's a lot of work, isn’t it? Re-think using classrooms as eating areas.
10. Personal hygiene. Encourage students to wash hands after eating/handling food and before taking their seats in the classroom. Hint: This will go over much more smoothly if the emphasis is placed on disease prevention, not food allergies. Discussions regarding time “wasted” during hand-washing should thoroughly review lost productivity due to the spread of cold and flu viruses at school. As noted by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, liquid soap, bar soap, and sanitizing wipes effectively clean hands of potential allergens, but antibacterial sprays and gels do not. Obviously, never use cleaning agents meant for surfaces on students.
11. Get formal. Yes, we have now gone beyond the promised 10 items. This last suggestion however is really a culmination of items 1-10. Develop and implement a formal, comprehensive, written policy for the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis at school. Please be aware that this list is certainly not exhaustive of issues relevant to managing food allergies at school, simply a place to start. Other important considerations include, but are not limited to: How Your School Will Deal with Bullying and Educating Students about Food Allergies. Hint: These two are related.

Original publication date 10-2011 by Food Allergy Warrior on Blogger.com.