My son started attending kindergarten this fall. He is anaphlyaxis to peanuts. So far in school, they set up a peanut free table for lunch and I am class mother to monitor all school parties. When there is a birthday I am not aware of, he has his own supply of frozen cupcakes in the nurses' freezer. The school will not let anyone but the nurse administer the epi-pen. My son is not allowed on any field trips without a family member(this is fine with me.) However, my problem is arising with after school activites at school. He wants to join intramurals after school, but the nurse is already gone. Does this mean my son can never join any clubs before or after school because the nurse if not there. In NY where we are from, anyone can administer the epi-pen. However, in my son's school they do not want to take on the liability. How do other parents handle this? I already drive him to and from school because I wasn't secure in how the school was handling the bus ride. Help!
After school activites
Posted on: Tue, 11/13/2001 - 12:50pm
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Hi Maria,
Is your school a public school? If not, tell us if it is private-religious or private non-religious. Then we can give you some information about under which law your child is protected.
Stay safe,
Rhonda
Hi I'm new to this. He is in a public school. The principal had a talk with me and she informed me that if my son wants to take an activity in school after hours that I have to be with him. This means for gymnastics I have to sit in the hallway. The gym teacher was willing to administer the medication if he needed it but the principal does not want to have the liability. Any opinions I would greatly appreciate.
This principal does not sound very knowledgeable. You might do better to go over her head and get a meeting with the superintendent. A public school cannot exclude disabled students from after school activities. Public schools are legally required to make accommodations to allow all their students to participate fully.
Furthermore, the school cannot escape liability by refusing to administer the epi. The school is responsible for keeping your child safe. Period. If they can do that by providing a school nurse, that's fine, but what about when she's absent? What if she leaves the building for a meeting? They are still liable for anything that happens to your child while he's at school. If they want to reduce their liability, their best bet is to demonstrate that they are doing EVERYTHING possible to keep the child safe. Sticking their heads in the sand and refusing to train their staff in administering the epi does not in any way protect them from liability.
Sheesh. This principal sounds clueless. I bet if you call the superintendent's office they will straighten out this principal (I hope so!) Good luck.
Okay Maria,
Do you have a Section 504 Plan?
Maria, children who are anaphylactically allergic to food are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Children with
Thanks so much for all the information. I will keep everyone posted on how this develops.
Maria