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Posted on 12/10/2007 12:06:40 PM PST by fanfan
TORONTO -- A group of Toronto-area children is asking the Ontario Human Rights Commission to force their school to launch mandatory lunch-bag inspections to screen out foods to which they have severe allergies, a case which could make all Ontario schools do the same.
The six children, ranging in age from six to 11, contend that the local school board discriminated against them when it shut down a voluntary lunch screening program at St. Stephen's Catholic Elementary School, in Woodbridge, Ont., aimed at keeping peanuts, egg products or other potential allergy-inducing foods off school grounds entirely.
Maurice Brenner, a human-rights expert who is helping the children pursue their case, said their allergies are potentially life-threatening and qualify as disabilities under Ontario human rights law. And he said that the school's lunch program, which was ended by the York Catholic District School Board more than a year ago, was necessary for the children's safety.
"Nothing is too much when we're talking about kids' safety," he said. "It's not off the wall by any stretch of the imagination. What if your kids had these allergies: would it be off the wall then? I don't think so."
Mr. Brenner said the voluntary program at the school ran for nearly six years, with parents pinning a note to lunch bags listing the contents and teachers assigned to monitor lunch hour checking that none of the children's lunches contained peanut or egg products, such as mayonnaise. If a banned substance was found in a child's lunch, a note would be sent home with them advising their parents of the fact.
But the board ended the inspection program at the end of the 2005-06 school year, which Mr. Brenner said "created total chaos."
"These kids are frankly frightened -- they're scared to go to school," he said.
Chris Cable, a spokeswoman for the York Catholic District School Board, said the program was ended because it was out of line with practices in the other schools in the region. "It was a question of bringing that school into line with the practices at our other schools," she said. "As a school board we're required to be consistent."
The children, and their parents, are currently in mediation with the board in an attempt to avoid a full hearing before a provincial human rights tribunal, but Mr. Brenner said talks are stalled over lunchbag inspections.
Ms. Cable said if a tribunal were to rule in favour of the children, "it could force every school in the province to do this."
She said St. Stephen's already has a program to keep peanuts and other allergens out of students' lunches and snacks, including reminding parents to leave potentially harmful foods out of lunch boxes and monitoring foods brought in for special celebrations.
"This school is a model for food allergy policies," she said.
Mr. Brenner said the children and their parents are not trying to make the lunch inspection program provincial law, just to get it brought back to their school.
"Every school should be able to come up with its own solution," he said. "If this becomes law, it's because the school board pushed it right to the bitter end."
He said the children's concerns need to be taken seriously. "These are deadly allergies: if these kids come into contact with these substances they can die."
The Woodbridge children are to hold a news conference on Monday, timed to coincide with International Human Rights Day, to promote their case against the school board.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology estimates that from two to four per cent of children and one to two per cent of adults have allergic reactions to food, most commonly peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, fish, milk, egg, wheat, soy and sesame.
Our son is allergic to a medication called ASPIRIN. Should he be banned from sports because some quack parent has rubbed Icy Hot all over his/her son’s elbow/knee/shoulder during a practice and then the IcyHot/aspirin has made its way into every baseball glove on the team because it doesn’t just medicate little Johnny?
I guess these people shouldn't take the bus, eh?
Mandatory lunch inspections?
What’s next? Banning Dodgeball or tag?
This is lunacy.
They’re already banning some of those games:
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=899ae368-02cf-4608-8d52-7bc96047f76c
If these products are so dangerous, they need to be banned completely. No peanuts or peanut butter, no egg products ever, etc. Then everyone can live a safe, miserable life.
Not long, I fear.
Banned from play?
No.
He should however play in a situation that is safe considering his circumstances.
Start a league for allergic children, if you wish, but don’t expect everyone else to change because of his condition.
Yah. Won't that be worth it. :-(
So what are the normal kids expected to do? Eat dirt?
Beef, chicken, cucumbers, cauliflower, and potatoes.
:-)
Until those are outlawed.......
WRONG. Medication should be taken by individuals and not distributed to others. Therefore, medication such as ICY HOT should not be administered or worn when the wearer will be in public. Why should my son take someone else’s medication? Why should my son pay for someone else’s pain? It’s medicine. Not food.
Some time ago, at home, my kid ingested a trace amount of peanut, on an apple, that was handled by someone who had handled peanuts. Within a couple of minutes, he started to turn blue/gray and was unable to breathe.
When the reaction started and he knew that his airway was closing up, he looked at me with wide eyes and choked out: "I don't want to die."
Thankfully, the epinephrene was fast acting, the e.m.t.s arrived quickly (less than ten minutes from 911 call), and his reaction was reversible(thank you, God).
There isn't a day that goes by that I don't pray for him when he leaves for school.
Again, thankfully, his school, school nurse, and friends, have been excellent and have worked with us in establishing a peanut free table and an emergency plan of action (just in case).
While I don't agree with the nanny state approach, I certainly understand the associated concerns.
Has anyone even attempted to explain how bringing a peanut or egg product onto campus is going to kill someone?
Wouldn't the stupid little allergic fart have to eat it or something?
See post number 52 in regard to my kid with a life-threatening peanut allergy.
My kid was frightened after he almost died after ingesting a trace amount of peanut product. Yeah...he has to ingest peanut product ( but some kids don't) in order to have a life-threatening reaction...
but he isn't a stupid little allergic fart, and/or a Momma's boy, either.
He has achieved the highest academic level in his class, has one of his middle school's fastest mile time (under 6:00 minutes), plays on a premier soccer team, loves paintball, likes to hunt, is a good shoot with bow and gun, and is a young conservative.
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I’m not aware of any children harmed during that eight years.
Repressed memory - quite common for traumatic incidents, like death in the lunchroom.
Now, such a policy would not be effective if the allergy is as severe as to be triggered by being breathed on by someone who had eaten the offending food (or by touching something they touched, like a door handle or water fountain faucet), but no policy would be. Aside from the fact that you cannot control what other children eat before school, consider the inevitable exposure to people in malls, airplanes, grocery stores, etc etc etc. Any measures would necessarily be more oppressive than even forcing schools to shutter all the windows in order to not threaten a child with sunlight allergies (rare, but such an allergy exists).
Life doesn’t come with guarantees.
When I was a kid growing up (in the 50s & 60s), we were too worried about things like polio and nuclear strikes to worry about imaginary ailments.
Plus, every adult smoked everywhere and kids played in the dirt like they were meant to do.
I think that has something to do with it.
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees.”
Yes, it does... two of them, in fact:
1. You WON’T get out of it alive; and
2. your soul will spend eternity somewhere, your choice.
Hey, eat the right amount of the right kind of dirt and your immune system gets boosted rather well!
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