| School District of The Tomorrow River |
| Bylaws & Policies |
5331.01 - PEANUT ALLERGY POLICY
It is estimated that three (3) million people in the United States have an allergy to peanuts and/or tree nuts. Of these people, eighty percent (80%) of people who have an allergy have breathing problems when they come in contact with the allergen. Also, 100-150 people die each year due to peanut allergies. Because of this the Tomorrow River School District is taking the initiative to become PEANUT SAFE in our cafeterias, buses and classrooms. This policy will ensure that our students with peanut allergies will enjoy their school years without the fear of coming in contact with peanuts on a daily basis.
General:
Each student with a peanut allergy will have a core team. The people in this group will include, but is not limited to, teachers, school nurse, principal, guidance counselor (if available) to work with parents and student (age appropriate) to establish a prevention plan. Changes to the prevention plan to promote food allergy management should be made with core team participation.Each child will have an emergency plan that will be written by the school nurse. This plan will include care necessary should a reaction occur. This may include placement of an Epi-Pen during classroom teaching and during the lunch hour. This emergency plan will be approved by the child’s physician, and parents.
The school nurse will coordinate proper storage of medications, and availability of emergency kit which will contain the physician’s standing order for epinephrine along with emergency plan specific to that child.
School staff members that are in contact with the child will be given education material via the school nurse to ensure understanding of the food allergy, recognize symptoms, and know what to do in an emergency. Staff will work together to eliminate the use of food allergens in the allergic student’s meals, educational tools, arts and crafts projects or incentives.
The schools will be prepared to handle a reaction should one occur. Drills will occur periodically to ensure that the emergency plan is effective and staff members are comfortable to handle any emergency.
Classrooms:
In classrooms that have children with a known peanut/tree nut allergy the following needs to occur with classroom snacks that are passed around to all students. The parent of the allergic child or a volunteer will read the snacks ingredient labels to see which contain tree nuts. Should a snack contain tree nuts, it will be traded with another classroom that does not have a child with a peanut allergy. If a snack is tree nut free, the box will be labeled with a safe sticker which the teachers will be provided at the beginning of the year. A handout of peanut free snacks will be given to parents at the beginning of the year to help promote peanut free snacks.The classrooms containing a child with a parent allergy will have an Epi-pen in a designated area. This medication is brought in by the parent and requires a consent form signed by the doctor and parent. Please see the Medication Administration Consent Form. *This plan will be approved by the core team and will depend upon the age appropriateness of each individual child.
School Buses:
The school nurse will work with the District transportation administrator to assure that school bus driver training includes awareness and what to do if a reaction occurs.It is recommended that all buses have communication devices in case of an emergency.
The school bus company should enforce a "no eating" policy on school buses transporting any elementary child with a peanut allergy. Exceptions should be made only to accommodate special needs under Federal or similar laws, or School District policy.
Field Trips:
Due to the potential for students to trade food during a field trip the following will occur for elementary school students. When entering the bus the students will each place their lunch in a designated box. The lunch of the child with a peanut allergy will remain separate due to the potential for cross contamination. Eating on the bus will not be allowed. When it is time to eat students will get their lunch out of the box. Note: On a field trip it is essential that teachers carry an Epi-pen for the child who has a peanut allergy. This child needs to be in a safe zone where they can eat safely with their friends.Teachers need to get signed off on administering medication away from school. Please see the school nurse or school secretaries get signed off.
Cafeteria:
At the end of the 2007-2008 school year the cafeteria will be cleaned, including freezers, refrigerators, counter tops and cabinets to eliminate any peanut contamination. For the 2008-2009 school year, no tree nut products such as peanut butter, peanut flour, and peanut oil will be served in the cafeteria. All products entering the cafeteria will have their ingredients read by a staff member and no product containing peanuts will be allowed. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches will be changed to either a jelly or cheese sandwich.Five (5) lunch tables will be labeled Hot Lunch only. Elementary students with a peanut allergy must sit at one (1) of these tables regardless of whether they are eating hot or cold lunch. These tables are peanut/tree nut free.
All cafeteria staff will be trained on the use of an Epi-pen at the beginning of the school year. The staff will also be given a food allergy chart containing pictures of each child, their allergy, symptoms and appropriate steps to take in case of an ingestion.
*This policy will be modified to include any child with a food allergy who needs special care to ensure their safety in the school setting.
Adopted 6/9/08