Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior Democrat on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and chairman of its Subcommittee on Children and Families, today introduced legislation critical to millions of American children who suffer from food allergies. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2009, which is cosponsored by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in the Senate and sponsored by Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) in the House, would provide for a consistent, voluntary approach to food allergy management guidelines for schools, and would offer incentive grants to schools that choose to implement such voluntary guidelines.

The bill, which Dodd, Alexander, and Lowey initially introduced in 2006, is endorsed by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and many other organizations. Last year, the House of Representatives passed similar legislation.

“Managing dangerous food allergies at home can be a daunting task for parents, and outside that safe environment, it becomes even more difficult to protect children from exposure to allergens,” said Dodd. “I am proud that my home state of Connecticut has led the way by issuing school-based food allergy guidelines and requiring training for school personnel. Creating voluntary food allergy management guidelines at the federal level will help schools maintain a safe and happy educational environment for all students, and provide the parents of children with severe food allergies some much-needed peace of mind.”

“I’m glad to once again offer my support for this bipartisan legislation to make sure parents can send their children to school without worrying that their son or daughter might suffer a life-threatening allergic reaction at the lunch table,” said Alexander, a former Secretary of Education. “This bill will help our school administrators, teachers, and nurses have the best training possible to protect the 41,000 children in Tennessee and millions throughout the country who suffer from potentially fatal allergies by providing guidelines and grants that will make it easier for schools to prevent emergencies and be as prepared as possible if one occurs.”

“The number of children with food allergies is too great and the risks of exposure are too high for the federal government not to act,” said Lowey. “Schools need guidelines for preventing food allergen exposure and responding promptly to dangerous reactions. This is a critical step in ensuring a safe school environment for families and children.” Lowey also authored legislation enacted in 2004, which requires food labels to clearly list the presence of the top eight ingredients that cause allergic reactions.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2009 directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop voluntary food allergy guidelines to prevent exposure to food allergens and assure a prompt response when a child suffers a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction. The guidelines must be developed and made available within one year of enactment of the law. The legislation also provides for incentive grants to local educational agencies to assist with adoption and implementation of food allergy guidelines in public schools.

On June 7, 2005, Connecticut became the first state to enact legislation requiring the establishment of school-based guidelines concerning food allergies and the prevention of life-threatening incidents in schools, including education and training for school personnel, procedures for responding to life-threatening allergic reactions and protocols to prevent exposure to food allergens.

Source: Senator Chris Dodd’s website.

You can view the text of House Bill 1378 and Senate Bill 456 by going to Here and inputting the bill numbers.

Rep. Lowey introduced the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act that was passed 7/20/2004.

This Act requires labels to be marked such that a 7 year old could read and understand the ingredients, all allergens are declared even if they are in the spices or flavorings, and curtail the current widespread use of the ‘may contain statements.’ This act goes into effect January 1, 2006.

More information on this Act can be found at:

In Ontario, Canada, Bill 3, Sabrina’s Law, was passed in May 2005. The bill, which will ensure that teachers and students know what to do when someone goes into anaphylactic shock, became law Jan. 1, 2006. This bill was named after Sabrina Shannon, a 13 year old girl, who died at school after eating french fries that were contaminated with a dairy product.

More information on this bill and this tragic story can be found at:

State Legislation & School District policies

AAFA (Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America) rates states by their asthma & allergy policies in schools. You can see the report here. Check out the detailed information in the back of the report about the 6 states that are on the honor roll. This will give you a good idea as to what legislation needs to be passed in your state.

Proposed bills in other states:

Iowa

Michigan

Nebraska

Pennsylvania

Texas

Virginia
and
Virginia

Legislation regarding Epinephrine at School with no prescription

Florida has a bill to allow school nurses to have epinephrine on site without a specific student’s name on the prescription. There has been research that up to 25% of epinephrine administrations are given to a student whose allergy isn’t known at that time. This legislation can be seen at:  HERE

In Kansas, HB.2008 was approved by the Governor in April 2009. The new law allows any accredited school in that state to obtain an epinephrine kit from a licensed pharmacist, and to maintain the kit at school. The epinephrine could then be used in emergency anaphylactic situation that occurs at school, on school property, or at school-sponsored events. Similar legislation has been introduced in Texas.

State Guidelines for Food Allergic Students

Other states have also created guidelines:

Arizona’s Resource Guide for Supporting Children with Life Threatening Food Allergies

California State PTA

Connecticut’s guidelines created by law

Maryland’s guidelines

Mississippi guidelines

New Jersey’s guidelines created by law

New York guidelines created by law

Tennessee’s guidelines

Vermont’s guidelines created by law

Washington’s guidelines

West Virginia guidelines

School District Guidelines for Food Allergic Students

Additionally, some school districts have created policies and procedures for dealing with severe food allergies. In 2001, a peanut allergic little boy died on a field trip in Spokane, Washington from anaphylaxis. From my understanding, his parents sued the school district and won. They used the monies to create education and awareness in the school district. The result was a task force appointed by the superintendent that created a document about dealing with food allergic children. Once again, it is excellent: CLICK HERE.

Another school district in Wilmette, Illinois has also created a document that's very good.

I participated on a task force for our public school district on food allergies. This was very exciting for me. I've been hoping for such to occur since I signed my son up for preschool 8 years ago. At that time, no private preschool in our city would accept him, and I knew that public schools were our only option. Yet, trying to learn the procedures in the classroom prior to an event was difficult. The school didn't realize how frequently food was used in lesson plans, as rewards, and at parties. It's taken a lot of years for us to speak the same language. 

Our task force created a working document of policies and procedures to help the school deal with food allergic children effectively and safely, to help parents know what to expect and to help students to self-advocate.

and the guidelines at:

CLICK HERE

go toward the bottom of the page and click on “Guidelines for Severely Allergic Students.”