i'm typically a very passive person but i would be livid about this. completely out of line to have had pb cookies being prepared at all (the smell is overwhelming, can you imagine what that could cause someone with a severe PA??). this was not only unsafe but also inconsiderate.
then to send your daughter out of class and later have the missed lesson affect her grade....
quiet, passive me would have busted through that door and torn into several members of the staff at school if this had happened to one of my two PA daughters (or anyone child excluded in this way for any reason). making pb cookies was completely NOT necessary in order to learn something about cooking (or whatever they were supposed be learning from the activity). there were a million other things they could have done instead.
uggggghhhhhh. i'm mad right along with you.
did you see the thread about the 17 yr old that died this week? i would forward that to the teacher, the principal, the vice superintendent, and the superintendent of your school system and anyone else i could think of if you don't get some immediate resolution and apology for this.
i would also make sure they are aware that some allergy sufferers (anaphylactically speaking) can react without actually handling or ingesting the offending allergen. if they need proof, ask them to hear about one of my two PA daughters who was hospitalized after breathing in a mall food court at christmas time one year. ate nothing, handled nothing but did sit near an asian food kiosk (sp?). full reaction.
another one of my girls had a less severe reaction in the wide open outdoors at a softball game as a child four rows up and two seats down at a half of a pb sandwich.
i don't expect the world to drop what it's doing for my children and yours but i do expect them to exercise good judgement and thoughtfulness whenever possible. in this case, it was entirely possible to find a way to include your child and keep her safe.

So, let me paraphrase what happened here.
Your daughter's teacher refused to accommodate her [i]federally recognized HIDDEN DISABILITY[/i].
Then, this same teacher HUMILIATED and singled out your CHILD for doing what she needed to in order to keep herself safe.
Finally, she PUNISHED her academically for having made her own needed modifications when the teacher refused to.
Am I understanding this so far? I thought so.
First, it is NOT appropriate for the teacher to decide which disabilities are "genuine." Clearly she has a problem with that. Hey-- I get that. I had a few (very few) college students that I strongly suspected needed 'extra time for exams' mostly out of laziness or poor work habits... but that was [i]not my call to make.[/i] And I didn't. I accommodated anything that came through official channels. Period.
This teacher was WAAAAAAY out of line. And I am also ashamed that the principal went along with this "Fix my tie, Cinderella..." bit. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/mad.gif[/img]

This is ABSURD and UNBELIEVABLE!
I would document this in a letter to the appropriate higher-up (the SUperintendent?) and describe the situation as you did here, professionally and accurately. With a few words thrown in like negligence, life threatening, exclusion, and attachments about the seriousness of PA and Federal and state law.
I used a couple good attachments in my letter to our Superintendent:
1) NIH document on "Students with Chronic Illnesses: Guidelines for Families, Schools and students" (this documents school responsibilities and applicable federal laws like 504, ADA, etc). Just google the title and NIH and it will come up.
2) "Assuring the Safety of Food Allergic Children in School," Journal of School health, November 2006. (see post in Schools board on this)
3) State Law - I think NY has a new law pending...get a copy and attach it.
4) Article(s) on PA death, anaphalyxis.
DOCUMENT this!!!! (and put in the part about the tie too, I think that is inappropriate)
Good luck!
PS how old is your DD?

Just curious what is happening with you? Did you approach anyone about what happened?
I would just be LIVID!!! Hope you are dealing better with this than I would have.
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Stacie - Mother to:
10 yr. PA
8 yr. TNA
2.5 yr. PA&TNA

I somehow missd this thread until now. I am absolutely appalled! I agree with all the advice others have given, and have only one more thing to add. As hard as it may be to keep calm when to speaking to the principal and superintendent about this, it is imperative that you do so. Keeping calm will go a long toward showing that this is serious, and you are not just a "hysterical mother." Please let us know how this turns out.
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[url="http://www.the3day.org/boston07/deedaigle"]http://www.the3day.org/boston07/deedaigle[/url]

I would take this directly to the superintendent of schools and raise a big ugly stink about it. You may want to call the FAAN to see what my rights are, just to be clear. And I agree that if you don't have a 504 for your child yet, you need to get this process underway so that this doesn't happen to your child again.
The teacher stupidly forgetting about your child's allergy is one thing. Punishing her academically is another.
That teacher is a moron and needs to be corrected -- upside her head, if possibe ;-)
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Two daughters, ages 10 and 13 who are allergic to peanuts, soy, all legumes, most tree nuts, and a few antibiotics.

Ok, I agree with the thoughts that the teacher doing the cookies and lowering your dd's grade was stupid, unfair and needs to be taken up with the school.
My only other thought is that somehow that teacher may have seen the chance to fix the principal's tie as a priviledge. While that sounds weird, at my dd's school for charector education kids come in and help teachers with files, art work, and yes, even sewing sometimes to get ready for special events for a classroom or the school. One day dd came home and said she had spent a little time that day cleaning markes off of the hallways walls to prep for Grandparents Day. Maybe(and just maybe since as I said above the rest of her decisions were dumb)this teacher thought it would be cool for your dd to help out the principal with a special task vs. just doing homework. Obviously even in that cause she should have asked if your dd was willing to sew the tie etc...but I can see how somehow she thought that request was OK?
Just trying to make the "tie thing" a potnetial misunderstanding. But as I said in the beginning, the teacher's choice to make the cookies was poor and lowering dd's grade should not happen.

Just curious if there are any updates? the first time I read your post, I somehow missed the part about sewing the tie....totally out of line!!!!!