Liars Liars pants on fire

During the beginning of the school year when I sat on the food Allergy Committee, it was decided ans agreed upon that the school would eliminate obvious nut products from its vending machines. In fact, the school superintendent ordered the products removed. I guess they changed their minds and didn't bother to tell anyone.

Nuts, nuts everywhere!!!

Out of sight, out of mind

Just found out my kid's seat was changed to sit away from the teachers. He no longer sits near the teacher as prescribed in his 504 plan for ADHD. Apparently the seat change happened like 3 months ago. And we all wonder why my kid doesn't seem to stay on task...

A little thing called advanced warning

My kid's 504 plan has this little thing called advanced warning when it comes to food in the classroom. All food has to be pre-approved or Richard is exempt. The school has to try to use non-allergen food products for classroom demonstrations (or better yet, not use food products aat all).

Then why are teachers distributing food products in his classroom that he is allergic to? What does the school say? "Ooops, we're sorry". From now on subsititues will be informed of your kids' deadly food allergies. Really? According to their own policies all substitute teachers are to be informed, and have epi-pen training. Guess that didn't happen either. Can you say 504 violation?

no eating on the bus

I've been asking the school to enforces its "no eating on the bus" policy for the upcoming field trip. The school is protesting.

Lets see, let's take 50 kids with peanut butter and other nut products and put them on a bus for 4 hours. Let's have them all eat on the bus. Then let's put a nut allergic child on that same bus and see what happens.

The liability and legal ramifications to a school who knowingly puts a child at risk, when something as simple as a "no eating on the bus" policy could be enforced, seems like a huge set of dice to roll.

The plot thickens

Oh, it gets even better....The school required my kid to go to a class that he was not supposed to be in! Additionally, when he went to school yesterday and was in the library, the librarians told him he had to work on the Home & Careers project. He told them his parents were contacting the school becasue they did not want him to do it. Rather than just leave it alone, they forced him to do the project. After about 5 minutes, he walked himself to the principal's office and explained the dilemma. Anyway...here is the lastest development with the school trying to kill my kid:

[principal]-

It came to my attention last night that [student's name] was told the he needed to go to the Home and Careers room on Tuesday at the beginning of class to pick up his assignment. I guess I fail to understand the disconnect that is occurring with this class. This recent development presents two issues:

1. By requiring [student's name] to report to a class that he is unable to participate, it draws attention to the fact that he is not participating in class. It singles him out, it makes him different and does so in front of all his peers. It would be akin to having a paralyzed student report to the gym in front of the other students to pick up a alternative assignment.
2. During our group meeting in In June 2008, we discussed the reasons why [student's name] was NOT to be in the Home and Careers room. It was agreed the school would be unable to keep this room allergen-reduced, and the risk of exposure too great. This was reiterated as recently as 2 weeks ago when [teacher's name] asked if [student's name] could be in that room and participate in a muffin baking demonstration. She was told "no". By requiring him to report to class in the Home and Careers room, the school has increased the likelihood of him having a reaction from cross-contamination. The school is not adhering to the established plan and instead, putting him in a position of increased exposure.

There have been too many incidents with this class, and I am not pleased with how things are being handled.

-[parent]

Battle Gear on!

This is my response:

[principal],

It is my understanding [student's name] Home & Careers alternative project was discussed and with you prior to being assigned. [Student's name] came home yesterday with the assignment which I have read several times over. Not only am I disappointed with the subject matter, I am offended and think it is highly inappropriate.

Such as assignment only emphasizes how he is different from others and focuses on his medical condition. [Student's name] is unable to participate in the cooking portion of the class due to food allergies, a medical condition. Since he cannot participate physically in that classroom setting, the school’s alternative assignment is for him to differentiate himself further from the other students? If a student were paralyzed in a car accident, would the physical education teacher make that student complete an assignment about the challenges of being paralyzed as an alternative to gym class? This would seem cruel.

[Student's name] disability prevents him from class participation, but the school still has a duty to provide equal educational benefits. While the class is busy cooking, [student's name] has been told to create informational resources on “helping others understand dietary restrictions”. As his class learns more about food preparation and cooking techniques, [student's name] is not bring provided similar instruction and instead is placed in a position of being the educator rather the student.

A §504 plan is about providing accommodations that will compensate for a student’s disability so that they have an equal chance to compete in class. The failure to expose §504 students to the required curriculum hardly gives them an equal access to education.

The wording of the assignment divulges a level of unawareness and could even be construed as bias towards non-disabled students by inferring that necessary accommodations are viewed as unreasonable to others. In particular, I am referring to the first paragraph which reads:

“Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or health concerns, many people face some type of dietary restrictions and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.”

As background, “lifestyle choices” are far different from food allergies. If someone chooses to be a vegan, they will not die from exposure to foods they choose not to eat. A severe food allergy is a serious medical condition that qualifies [student's name] as having a disability. If one substitutes [student's name] disability with a more common disability, perhaps one can see how inflammatory this sentence would appear to a person affected by such a disability.

Substitution 1: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or paralysis, many people face some type of mobility restrictions and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Substitution 2: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or autism, many people face some type of cognitive disorders and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Substitution 3: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or blindness, many people face some type of vision impairment and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Specifically, the word “unreasonable” is impertinent and instead seems to reveal opinions and preconceived notions about the accommodation of children with disabilities in the school setting. If this were a social studies assignment on segregation and Brown vs. Brown, would the class assignment contain similar language… that accommodating black children in the white schools may seem “unreasonable” to some?

We initially met with the school and staff regarding this specific class in June 2008. The school had approximately 9 months to prepare or design an alternative curriculum for the cooking portion of the Home & Careers class. I am disappointed school staff contacted me 2-3 days before the commencement of this portion of the class and informed me that they still had not “come up with an assignment for [student's name] to do”. I cannot in good conscious have [student's name] perform or complete this assignment, which I believe only serves to draw attention to how he is different from other students and does not provide him equal educational benefits.

-[parent]

Bias

This is the "alternative" poroject my child was assigned instead of being able to participate in the cooking portion of Home & Careers (A NYS mandated course):

Helping Others Understand Dietary Restrictions

Whether it's a result of lifestyle choices or health concerns, many people face some type of dietary restrictions, and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus learn how to manage, they may seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Your assignment is to create two informational sources that can be shared with others to help them understand, appreciate and respect the needs of your dietary restrictions. One source should be designed for your peers - people your own age (friends, classmates, group members, etc.). The second should be designed for people in the restaurant industry, including cooks, wait staff, managers, etc.

Your final products will be hi the medium(s) of your choice. They could be posters, brochures, pamphlets, Power Point presentations, videos, booklets, etc.

Each product must:

• Capture the attention of the desired audience (be interesting!)
• Keep the attention of the desired audience (don't be too lengthy)
• Be user-friendly (remember this is intended for people who aren't used to dealing with these issues, so we want to make it easy for them to understand and follow)
• Explain the problem and dietary changes needed to meet your needs
• Explain the seriousness of the consequences if proper food preparations aren't followed(For example, if they just scrape an allergen-containing topping off the food instead of preparing the food without the topping)

Famous People with Food Allergies

1. Serena Williams, Tennis player: allergic to peanuts
2. Ray Romano, Actor: iolently allergic to peanuts
3. Alex Kapranos, Rocker from band “Franz Ferdinand: fatal allergy to peanuts
4. Robert Kennedy Jr.'s son Conor: nut allergy
5. Katie Couric’s Nephew - severe peanut allergy
6. Clay Aiken, American Idol contestant and second place winner: allergic to coffee, chocolate, shellfish, tree nuts, mushrooms, and mints
7. Heather Locklear's daughter Ava: peanut allergy
8. Steve Martin, Actor: shellfish allergy
9. Trace Adkins' daughter: Allergic to peanuts, milk, eggs and more
10. Britney Spears' son Jayden - peanut allergy
    

Holding my Breath

Finally we heard from the principal! Here's the status on this week's top three problems:

1. The index cards being kept by a teacher are being destroyed. No longer will that teacher rely on self-reported medical information for students in the Home & Careers class. I think the principal told us on the phone, rather than email because if she put it in writing, it would document their role in the HIPAA violation, among other things.
2. Additionally, the principal told us the Valentine's day candy sales did include candy whose label read "may contain traces of peanuts and tree nuts". The principal told us the school would be purchasing alternative non-nut candy to distribute throughout the school.
3. Now onto the bake sale, there was no school oversight nor instruction given in regards to the ingredients of the bake sale items being brought in from home and sold throughout the school. Let's hope there aren't many nut-topped treats or peanut butter bars, etc. Since the sale occurs within the hour, there is nothing to do but hold our breathe that he comes home alive.
   

Battle Gear On

From the middle school website yesterday: "... Art Club will be having a Valentine's bake sale tomorrow and Friday during lunch periods."

A bake sale?!! A bake sale where kids bring in foods baked at home, probably laden with nuts (brownies with nuts, peanut butter cookies, etc). Are you kidding me?!!!

Doesn't this conflict with the school's proposed allergy policy "... Inform parents/guardians of students with severe allergies in advance of any school events where food will be served"?

I guess the school doesn't seem to think my kid may be at risk. Time to don some battle gear....

Hear No Evil

2 emails and 2 phone messages to the principal and still no answer about what candy products will be sold and distributed throughout the school facility tomorrow.

Separate but equal?

Why is is that teachers think classroom projects are appropriate when not all can participate? Or the class exercise if fine if one student is singled out because they have to use different, separate materials?

The Home & Careers classroom project is to read food labels, but not just the labels - she uses the whole package. The teacher wants to use what she already has but can't attest to them being safe for him to handle (such as her granola bar labels which have a ton of nuts in them]. Although we asked that labels being used would be safe for everyone, she thought it best he bring in his own. So here we go again, the "separate but equal" bullshit.

Umm, are they serious?

Email from parent to school

[principal],

Thanks for responding about the candy sales. However, I still do not know what candies are being sold and distributed throughout the cafeteria and commons. If they are nut products this would be a grave concern. Please let me know specifically what food products will be distributed in school.

Also, I did not receive a response from you in regards to my concerns about a child’s self-reporting of medical history and how this data is used as a back-up to official medical records. I hope you understand there are many issues and liabilities associated with teachers using self-reported medical information from minors without parent consent. Am I to assume that this is something the school will continue to endorse and sanction? I really would appreciate a response so I do not misunderstand the school stance on this.

-[parent]

Contamination Kept to a Minimum

Email from principal to parent

Hi [parent],

I spoke to the SADD advisor, and she has changed the delivery plans for the Valentine's candy. The candy will be delivered only at lunch time and will be given to the students in the cafeteria and commons during that period. We have also discussed the need to look into future fund raisers that do not involve food.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, and please stay in touch.

[principal]

Disregarding the doctor

Email from parent to principal

Dear [principal],

Thank you for your quick response about the Home and Careers class. While I appreciate [teacher's] desire for a “back up system” regarding student’s medical history, I don’t feel it appropriate or acceptable to rely on a student’s self-reporting of such.

Student medical history should be provided to teachers by the school nurse, or directly available via emergency care plans, 504 plans, IEPs, and/or written instructions for care providers. The sharing of medical information requires written permission from the parents, and we have done so in the beginning of the school year with the submission of appropriate forms and complete medical history. At no time have we granted permission for [child] to self-report his medical history to individual teachers, nor have we granted consent for the minor’s self-reported data to be used by school personnel as a backup system for medical information.

I am not trying to be a pain, but this is a serious concern. As an FYI:

• Health information in either paper or electronic form must be confidential, secure, accessible only by authorized staff, and protected from loss or destruction. In keeping with medical record requirements, school health records are cumulative and chronological, and errors are not changed, rather recorded on the appropriate date Management of student health records includes their generation, maintenance, protection, disclosure, and destruction.
• Privacy, confidentiality, and consent are related to record management
• Paper records are generally kept in locked files. Some school staff will need immediate access to some health information, such as that in emergency care plans, 504 plans, IEPs, and written instructions for care providers
• Laws governing school health records include the Federal Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as well as individual state laws

As an aside, it has just come to my attention that there is a “SADD Valentine Sale” which consists of candy sales and delivery of candy valentines 9th period next Friday. Please advise what candies are being sold and delivered throughout the school facility. This is something that the school should have advised us about since it results in food products bring distributed to classrooms throughout the school facility.

-[Parent]

Top Notch Security

Email from principal to parent

Hi [parent],

I spoke with [teacher] in regards to your concerns. She does have access to all the information in the computer, but she asks the students to write on the cards as a back up system for the information. She also asks the students to identify topics they would like to learn more about in Home and Careers. She is very careful with the cards and keeps them locked in her desk.
...Please stay in touch.

[principal]

Real information need not be reported

Email to principal from parent

Dear [principal],

[Child] came home from school yesterday and told me that his Home & Careers class had started. He stated that the teacher had asked the students fill out cards with their contact information and to write down the foods to which they are allergic. [Child] told the teacher that he did not have enough room to write everything down, and that he was allergic to many things. The teacher responded by saying "just write it down". [Child] responded that he did not have enough room. This went back-and-forth a couple of times.

By asking the teacher for guidance in how to fulfill her request, [Child] was put in a position to identify himself to the whole class as being very "different" from the other students. Also, given that the teacher should have familiarity with [Child's] 's medical condition, I feel her response
was less than sensitive.

Requesting that students provide such information raises several concerns:

1) Request for Contact information:

• Why isn't the teacher using the student's official contact information (both parent's info, phone numbers, etc) that is provided to the school in the beginning of the year?
• Why and for what purpose is the teacher keeping separate records from the school?
• If the teacher wants to contact a parent, which contact information is she going to use * the separate information or the information the school has?

2) Request for Medical Information:

• Why isn't the teacher accessing the student's official health information (504 plan, Emergency Health Plan, Individual Health Plan, etc) for allergy information?
• Why is the teacher relying on a student's self-reporting of food allergies?
• Why and for what purpose is the teacher keeping separate heath records from the school?
• Since the teacher is asking for personal health records, should the information the teacher obtains fall under HIPAA? If so, the information should be stored and maintained according to the set privacy standards.

Thanks,

[parent]