Quote:Originally posted by Corvallis Mom:
[b] [url="http://www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060124/NEWS04/601240344/1309/MTCN04"]http://www.gallatinnewsexaminer.com/apps...344/1309/MTCN04[/url]
This is a pretty sad tale overall. Obviously, the legal counsel at this district has never heard of a 504 accomodation for PA. Anyone in the area care to try to fill them in?
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Metro won't teach boy with allergy at his home
Mother says legal opinion puts child's life in danger
By DIANE LONG
Staff Writer
Parent Laura Duke fears her son, Brentson, may die

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The Daisy Thanks You

Laura,
I'm glad you're here. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] I think you'll find a lot of parents here who have had difficulties with their own school districts and who are willing to support you. I'm one.
Do you have any correspondence from the School District that you can post here? It would be helpful for me to read the statements that came directly from your school district instead of what was stated second-hand in the media.
1. Would you please post the letter from your SD in which the School Board states that your son does not qualify for protection under Section 504?
2. Would you also post any information from Brentson's allergist that you provided your school district prior to this determination?
With those two pieces of information, I am most willing to write to the Metro Nashville school board.
Gail

Drew's school district has removed his 504 designation this school year based upon the Land decision as well. They will absolutely have a hayday if (when) they find out about the AG's decision.
It is written in black & white in the Land decision "Whether a major life activity is substantially limited is an individualized and fact-specific inquiry....In this case, Megan's allergy is not substantially limiting because, as her doctor stated, Megan's allergy impacts her life only 'a little bit.'" I have talked to the attorney for the Lands, and he felt that getting pa considered a disability is a very difficult case (probably his feeling since he lost), it seems to me that it was her physician's testimony that lost the case for Megan. "A little bit?" How many of you feel that your child's life is impacted "a little bit" due to pa? Good grief!!!
A court decides disability designations for ADA (which is what the Lands were hoping for). A team of knowledgeable individuals is SUPPOSED to determine eligibility under 504.
I'm so stressed!!!
Laura - you are in the right place!! There are many helpful, knowledgeable, supportive people here. {{{Hugs}}} to you!!
[This message has been edited by Drew's mom (edited January 29, 2006).]

I don't understand this. The Office of Civil Rights at the US Department of Education has already decided that FA are protected under ADA.
See: [url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum7/HTML/000583.html"]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum7/HTML/000583.html[/url]
How can this be?

Quote:Originally posted by Drew's mom:
[b]Drew's school district has removed his 504 designation this school year based upon the Land decision as well.
In this case, Megan's allergy is not substantially limiting because, as her doctor stated, Megan's allergy impacts her life only 'a little bit.'[/b]
I think the words to focus on here are "In this case". The law says eligibility must be decided on a case-by-case basis. Therefore the Land case should not be used to rule out a whole class of people.
I think you would have a good case here, Drew's mom. The Land case was at a preschool, the child in that case does not have exactly the same history/risk factors as your child, so the conclusion reached in the Land case (which was so wrong anyway, IMO) cannot be used to draw a conclusion in your son's case.
Also, I think the Land case focussed on the major life activity of "breathing". I think this approach may not be the best--I think that "caring for oneself" is the major life activity that is most affected for PA children. We are giving extra care every minute of every day to help them avoid allergens. We are giving extra care in the form of training which allows us to identify and treat allergic reactions. This extra care must be present at all times for the allergic child to enjoy a measure of personal safety equal to that enjoyed by their peers. Young children (grade school age) may not have the skills and judgement necessary to protect themselves from exposure to potentially fatal allergens. Allergic people of all ages may need assistance to treat a severe reaction. THESE are the constant factors that significantly impact an allergic child's life. We need to start using this argument (perhaps along with the argument about the significant effects of a reaction on breathing and cardiovascular function) because this is what we are really thinking of when we say that life-threatening allergies significantly impact our children's lives.
Furthermore, the Land case does not apply to a child who is attending elementary or secondary school because of the following argument:
"Finally, Land asserts Megan is disabled under the ADA because Baptist regarded Megan as substantially limited in her ability to attend day care. Again, we disagree. In our view, major life activities do not include those activities like day care attendance that, although important to a particular plaintiff, are not significant within the contemplation of the ADA. "
Day care may not be a major life activity, but attending elementary or secondary school surely is!
Cathy
[This message has been edited by Momcat (edited January 29, 2006).]

How can this be?[/B][/quote]
At this point, OCR is not involved.

Momcat - Thank you. Yes, we have made all those arguments to the school district. Unfortunately, we are dealing with one of "those" districts. Sigh...
Quote:[b]This is an email from Laura Duke, the mom.
The Metro School System is saying that Brentson's anaphylaxis allergy to peanuts and peanut butter products does not limit one or more major life activities. Therefore, Brentson would not qualify under "Section 504 and or IDEA." [/b]
How did you get this information? Was it in the form of a letter? Said during a meeting? During a phone conversation? Who made this decision? The 504 Coordinator? The 504 Team? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get an idea of how this took place.
Quote:[b]I have meeting with my attorney on Saturday.[/b]
I hope your attorney was able to give you some answers as well as options. I just need to caution you (it's the protective mom in me) that an attorney not familiar with anaphylactic allergies, Section 504 and school law, can do more harm than good. We learned the hard way. If you find the right attorney, I'm sure he/she could pick this district apart with all of their violations.
[This message has been edited by Drew's mom (edited January 29, 2006).]

Brentson's Pediatrician stated that if he returns to school in an environment that is not Peanut Free and enforced on a daily basis that the risk to Brentson is immediate death! Brentson's Pediatrician has been wonderful, but now she is furious at the Metro Nashville Public School System. I tried to scan the document that Dr. Barton filled out, however, I couldn't get it to copy on the website. Regarding Land vs. Baptist Medical Center, I would like to know the name of Megan's Pediatrician, because of he/she stating that Megan's PA does not effect one or more of her major life activities is ludicrous. I would have appealed that decision all the way to the Supreme Court! My team of Attorneys that I met with on Saturday stated that we will probably be appealing Land vs.. Baptist Medical Center. Brentson's Pediatrician has stated that his PA effects ALL of his life activities. It doesn't get much simpler than that. I have attached a copy of a letter that Brentson's Pediatrician wrote to a local Media Reporter (at my request) to assist me in getting Brentson's Story out there.
Take Care,
Laura Duke
[email]7051996@bellsouth.net[/email]
Mr. Brinton,(Media Reporter)
Some background on me: I am a board certified Pediatrician, at the Children's Clinic and I am Brentson's primary care physician.
The absurdity of this situation is unbelievable. Brentson has a true life threatening allergy to peanuts and his mother is being asked to willingly place him in a potentially dangerous situation. I have tried to think of an analogy to convey how ludicrous this is. It is almost as if the school is telling parents there may be deadly venomous snakes at the school. There is a chance their child may be bitten by these snakes. However, their child must still attend school, and if they are absent from school the parent will be prosecuted for truancy. Peanuts are truly this lethal to Brentson. This is not just a stomach ache or sore throat from coming in contact with peanuts. This is an immediate swelling and closing off of his airway. The problem is that he is so allergic that if he touches a surface where peanuts have been in contact with and then touches his mouth he will react with swelling of his airway.
Recently Brentson has begun to have anxiety and panic attacks. He is having nightmares that he is at school and someone touches him with a peanut and he dies. He now is on medication for anxiety at the age of 9.
Brentson has a medical illness which can be very deadly very quickly. It is important that this be treated with the same seriousness as a student who has asthma or diabetes. Just as in these illnesses, it takes a team approach including the parent, school, student, and physician to insure the child's safety.
Call me if you have any questions
Dr. Amy Barton

Hang in there Laura (((Hugs)))a big (((hug))) to your son.
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Love this site
Synthia