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]