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Can a 504 Plan Help your Child with Food Allergies in School?

If you have a child with food allergies in school, do you need a 504 plan that addresses your child's physical needs when it comes to treatment of a reaction? A 504 plan is based on sections of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which requires schools to provide students a free public education, regardless of any type of disability. The disability could be mental, physical or even emotional and certainly food allergies and possible reactions could fall within this realm.

The 504 plan itself is created to protect the interests of your child should he or she has an allergic reaction to something they ate or were exposed to in school. This plan is created with the input of the parents, principal, teacher, school nurse and any other school administrator who needs to be involved.

Can a 504 Plan Really Help your Child in School?

When a child has a food allergy severe enough to necessitate life-saving skills should a reaction occur, a 504 plan is an excellent thing to have in place. When the child, parent, teacher and other school staff know about the allergy in addition to knowing how to administer life-saving epinephrine, the child is much safer.

The 504 plan provides a foundation as well for parents and children to discuss their food allergies as well as their responsibilities in avoiding the culprit in question as well as what to do should a reaction occur. In addition, it can spell out what exactly the child can do for themselves in certain situations as well as what the teacher or other school official is expected to do. Clear roles are defined and delineated.

Not Every Child Can Have a 504 Plan

Not every child with a food allergy can have a 504 protection plan in place. Medical proof must show that the allergy can greatly hinder a child's health and activities in order to be considered. The school district must evaluate each child requesting a 504 plan on a case by case basis. The seriousness of the food allergy as well as the child's ability to treatment him or herself is studied.

Young children with limited reading ability or capability to act for themselves will likely have 504 plan approvals with the school. However, if an older child, who understands their food allergy, knows how to avoid triggers and can adequately handle themselves in self-administering medicine if needed may not require an official 504 plan and one may not be approved for them at any rate.

There are arguments for and against 504 plans for your child in school and each side has valid points. The best suggestion for you would be to talk with your child's doctor and understand the severity of the food allergy. If a reaction could be life threatening at any time, the obvious answer would be to start on a 504 plan immediately. However, if the symptoms are more troublesome than anything and could easily be remedied with a trip to the nurse's office for an anti-histamine or other medication, then perhaps the hassle of getting a 504 plan approved by the school district is not worth it.