Students with food allergy or other life-threatening allergy must have an Allergy Action Plan (AAP) signed by a healthcare provider and the parent/guardian every year.
Students (Parents/guardians) that are:
new to the school
develop a new allergy
have a change in their current allergy (reaction, allergy treatments etc)
must complete an Allergy History Form. This form can be: completed at home and returned to the School Nurse OR completed during a meeting or phone call with the School Nurse
The USDA requires a healthcare provider's statement that a child has a food allergy disability before the food service department can make dietary accommodations for a child with a food allergy.
A Food Accommodation Form will need to be submitted in order for dietary accommodations to be made
A signed note from the student's Healthcare provider is also acceptable as long as it includes ALL of the following information:
Information explaining the child's mental or physical impairment and how it restricts the child's diet
An explanation of what must be done in order to accommodate the student's dietary needs
The food or foods to be omitted and recommended alternatives
About Food Allergies
Food allergies are a public health concern that affects approximately 1 in every 13 children in the United States. A food allergy occurs when the body has a specific and reproducible immune response to specific foods. The immune response in the body can be severe and even life threatening, such as anaphylaxis. (CDC, 2024)
In people with food allergies, the immune system responds to specific foods as if they were harmful, like a germ.
There are other types of food-related conditions and diseases that are serious and can cause serious problems but are not immediately life-threatening. Some examples include: problems with digesting lactose in milk, resulting in gas, bloating, and diarrhea, and reactions caused by cereal grains/gluten (celiac disease) that can result in severe malabsorption and a variety of other serious health problems.