Allergy policy nothing to sneeze at

Jeremy White will never go to a Dodger game. He will not trade sandwiches or other lunch items with friends at school, and he rarely goes to Disneyland.

Jeremy, a first-grade student at Bay Laurel Elementary School in Calabasas, is among a rising number of children diagnosed as "highly allergic." Items such as nuts, peanuts, berries and other foods can be lethal to highly allergic children. Peanut dust—even peanut vapors that are breathed in—can send Jeremy into anaphylactic shock.

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening hypersensitivity to food or other substances. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, difficulty swallowing, swelling and shock. In severe cases, a child could lose consciousness and die.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District board has adopted new policies to ensure that highly allergic children like Jeremy can eat, play and breathe a little easier at school. The policies were approved June 9.

The board policy and administrative regulations provide procedures for school staff members to follow to keep children with deathly allergies safe at school.

For starters, if a highly allergic student attends an LVUSD school, all parents will be asked not to bring items in a particular food group— say peanuts—to the school.

The program had already been implemented at some schools, said Stephanie Williams, Jeremy's mother and one of the parents who pushed for stiffer regulations.

Williams said her son is so allergic to peanuts that if another child eats a peanut butter sandwich and breathes on him, he could go into anaphylactic shock. Peanut dust on swings or books touched by Jeremy could cause the same reaction.

Bay Laurel provided a safe haven for Jeremy even before the district policy went into effect. Principal Karen Hansen had instituted a no-peanut policy at the school to accommodate Jeremy, and Williams said the entire school community has been supportive.

The policy extends safety standards to all schools. Once the school has been notified that an incoming student is highly allergic to a specific food, notifications to district staff and the school community are sent out with a request that no products in the food group be brought on campus.

Child nutrition services will make food substitutions in breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks or during field trips or other school-sponsored events, officials said.

Parent-teacher organizations that raise funds with after-school food sales may be limited if a highly allergic student attends the school. The policy states that the "superintendent . . . shall make reasonable attempts to limit foods and beverages outside the district's food service program to those which do not contain certain specific food(s) or food groups." The policy would include food sold through vending machines and student stores.

Teachers must curtail how class parties are conducted if a highly allergic child is in the class. If a child can't eat strawberries, for instance, the teacher would contact parents asking that berries be eliminated from any home-cooked treats headed for the classroom.

When in doubt, highly allergic children are encouraged to avoid eating any party foods.

Eating isn't the only way these children can be harmed—the policy also addresses sanitation issues. District-approved cleaning products that are known to remove food proteins will be used, and cafeteria tables will be designated allergenfree at schools where students with extreme allergies have been identified.

Julie Gilbert's fourth-grade daughter, Krystal, is highly allergic to peanuts.

"She swells up so you can't see her eyes," Gilbert said.

Starting in kindergarten, Chaparral Elementary School administrators have designated Krystal's classrooms "peanut-free."

"We've received phenomenal support from parents and classmates," Gilbert said. If a classmate accidentally brings in a peanut butter sandwich, Krystal is alerted by other students and precautions are enacted.

Superintendent Donald Zimring said he doesn't expect the district to become the "food police," but that the new policy with notification standards will be helpful.

Board President Dave Moorman said he was happy with the efforts being made to improve the environment for children with food allergies.