Information reproduced with permission by Theresa
Willingham. Theresa's book
The Food Allergy Field Guide: A Lifestyle
Manual for Families is now available via the Savory
Palate or Amazon.comTHE LAW IS ON YOUR SIDE
By Theresa Willingham
Ideally, if parents have done their part, helping a child maintain a special diet should present caregivers no greater obstacle to ensuring the health and safety than keeping children safe in a playground. And, caregivers also have a commensurate legal responsibility to ensure your child's dietary safety. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) of 1997 Public Law 105-17, was signed by President Clinton on June 4, 1997. The Final IDEA '97 Regulations were released in march of 1999. 73
The law provides for "supplementary aids and services" for children having "limited strength, vitality, and alertness", for a variety of reasons including chronic or acute health problems that "adversely affects a child's educational performance." That means that schools must make every effort to provide your child's education in an environment that's safe and free of impediments to his or her learning, in relation to his or her problem, be it physical or emotional.
Specifically, the IDEA Amendments of 1997 promise to "Preserve the right of children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education" by doing these things:
Strengthen the role of parents
Focus on teaching, and learning which reducing unnecessary paperwork requirements;
Ensure schools are safe and conducive to learning; and
Encourage parents and educators to work out their differences by unsing non-adversarial means.
In addition, the Free Appropriate Public Education portion of the law (300.532) says that evaluation procedures must "provide that each child's evaluation must be sufficiently comprehensive to identify all of the child's special education and related services needs".
All of that is to say that, if all else fails during your team building efforts, there are statutory measures in place to protect your child in school if need be. The IDEA ensures that your food-sensitive child has access to his or her special foods, to medications, and to safe activities. More than likely, you'll never need to call upon the Individual with Disabilities Education Act to make sure your child is safe in school. But when you're free-falling through a food sensitivity, it's reassuring to know you've got a reserve chute.
73 You can obtain a copy of this law from the Superintendent of Documents, US Gov. Printing Office, PO Box 371954, Pittsburg PA 14250-7954. Or, access the entire act, with links by topic, online at http://www.ideapractices.org/lawandregs.htm
Information reproduced with permission by Theresa
Willingham. Theresa's book
The Food Allergy Field Guide: A Lifestyle
Manual for Families is now available via the Savory
Palate or Amazon.com
Information shared by Clan Thompson