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]