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Austintown halts food use in class as allergies rise
By ROBERT CONNELLY
AUSTINTOWN
Austintown students with allergies vary from the traditional peanut allergy to gluten, dairy, food dyes and vegetables and fruit, based on acid levels within the food.
“It has really expanded to just about anything,” said Bethany Carlson, 504 coordinator for Austintown schools. The number of food allergies has gone from 150 two years ago to more than 400 now, she said — meaning that 10 percent of Austintown students have a food allergy.
Due to the increase in allergies, Austintown is cutting off food for curriculum purposes to re-evaluate food in the schools. “We’re going to reconvene later in the school year to address ways to make it safe,” Carlson said. “Start with a clean slate and go from there.”
An example of using food in curriculum is a counting exercise using candy, such as Skittles or M&Ms, or making bar graphs with candy bars.
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, it is illegal for organizations that receive federal funding to discriminate against a person for a disability, including a medical disability such as a student with a food allergy. Carlson is the one who makes sure the school is compliant.
She explained the Austintown Board of Education approved two policies in 2010, one for student wellness and another for allergy policies.
Carlson works with district nurses, and once an allergy is detected, school officials work with that student’s doctor to come up with a plan. That could include having the student carry an epinephrine pen with them, but the district also approved having epi-pens in the clinics that are locked away this school year. Carlson said they have not had to use one of those emergency epi-pens this year.
For this week’s classroom parties involving Valentine’s Day, the Parent Teacher Association was encouraged to work with Austintown food services to find safe foods. Tascin Brooks, director of Austintown food services, said she came up with about eight snacks safe for classrooms based on allergies. The snacks in the classrooms will be similar to what has been in the vending machines at Fitch High School as new food guidelines have led to changes in food in the school district.
“It’s nice because it means that the district is coming together as a whole,” Brooks said. “It is a challenge. It’s a challenge every day. ... We’re working toward making sure that everybody is safe in the district with allergies. We have more than 400 food allergies in the district.”
Dr. William L. Houser Jr. is an allergist based in Boardman and has patients from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties. He said it has taken time for school districts to have allergy policies due to liability issues.
“It’s about prevention,” Carlson said of liability. “It was not about being sued. It was about the kids.”
Dr. Houser, Brooks and Carlson agreed that there has been an uptick in children with allergies over recent years.
“There’s not a single factor that goes into that,” Dr. Houser said, adding that diet and family history are just two of the factors.
“Most new food allergies occur in the first four to six years of life, especially the first 18 months or two years,” Houser said. “Even an adult can develop a new food allergy at any time.”
For that reason, the district’s having epi-pens within the schools is beneficial. Both Carlson and Dr. Houser said because kids are in school six hours a day, they have the most risk of having an allergic reaction at school or at home.
“Schools’ being proactive on behalf of the child is definitely a step forward,” Dr. Houser said. “The fact that they’re more willing to take this responsibility on is definitely a positive feature.”
Renee English, communications supervisor at the Mahoning County Educational Service Center, said she reached out to area school districts and heard back from them quickly.
“Every school district responded back that they have some type of policy in place as in regard to allergies,” she said.