WCPSS -- Our new food allergy accommodations and what you may want to know

This post has been a long time coming. And I've hated staying quiet because I know so many other WCPSS families are dealing with their own struggles with food allergy accommodations within Wake County Public Schools. I've been in touch with so many of you privately, and we seem to be making progress overall with accommodations in our schools. But (and this is a big but), it's hit or miss. There remains a lack of consistency once you venture outside of the Individual Health Plan (which is standard).

Note: For those of you just starting out on this journey, be sure to read my previous 504 posts for more information about our requests, county policy as it currently stands and tips for pushing for additional accommodations. 

504 Plans for Food Allergies
What We've Learned (August 2019)

Elias is now in second grade, so we've been down this 504 path with the county for three years now. Same struggles. Same requests. Same shutdowns. And it's been incredibly frustrating. There are times I knew the county wasn't following the 504 policy as set forth by the American's with Disabilities Act and I've filed complaints with the Office of Civil Rights (and you should, too). They need to hear from all of us with issues arising so that WCPSS pops up so much in their files they realize something may be going wrong.

This year, I once again reached out to the Disability Rights of North Carolina nonprofit, expressing our continued fight for reasonable accommodations for Elias -- accommodations deemed necessary by both his allergist and his psychiatrist. This year, many others joined me in reaching out to them and it was clear this isn't a one-off situation. It's county-wide and needs addressing. The stories I've heard from other parents just break my heart, disappoint me greatly and only fueled my fire to try to bring about systemic change.

This year, the DRNC decided to help out -- and Elias became their first food allergic disabled client. What. A. Blessing. To have their brains, grit and teamwork supporting us has been amazing. After being told 'no' to pretty much everything at our initial 504 meeting at the start of the school year (sans attorney), I followed the WCPSS complaint process and received no feedback. None. It's their process, and they ignored it.

Enter: Attorney who files a complaint on our behalf and we start to see some movement. Because I can't share all of the details and our case is still ongoing, I'm going to just state that beginning in late fall Elias had an attorney and she's been with us through all of the meetings and guided us through various processes. Please reach out to me if you find yourself in need of more details or help. I will do all that I can!

We had our second 504 meeting followed later by our third to discuss our complaint that Elias's needs are not being met with reasonable accommodations. To say the meetings were pleasant would be a lie. To say this process has been joyful would be another lie. It's been hard. Far harder and more emotional than I expected. To say this process has a quick and happy ending would be yet another lie. But there are happy parts. We have solid safety accommodations in place for Elias now. My goal all along has been to (1) keep Elias as safe as possible and (2) help bring about change for all food allergy families.

With our new accommodations in place, Elias continues to struggle with severe anxiety. Severe. He's now on medication, it's a disruption to his day, his sleep, his personality, his ability to focus and his ability to trust his school or others. We are continuing to push further for him - through therapy, school interventions and additional accommodations.

However, where we landed with our accommodations in our 504 plan I personally feel do a very good job of meeting the recommendations and standards set forth by F.A.R.E., the CDC and other experts in this area. So, I want to share these with you so that you know what we've been allowed to add to our 504 plan so that you know what you can ask for and push for in your own meetings.

I should note that in some schools within the county, items we had to fight for were granted. I believe this was because of that specific school's nurse or administration. In the majority of cases, though, the families I've connected with were running into (and still are) the same hurdles we did.

If you feel your child would benefit from these accommodations, ask for them. (Please don't toss my name out there, though.) Be sure that your physician asks for them in writing, too. This was critical in our case. Until WCPSS changes the overall allergy guidelines, a doctor's note may be an important piece during your meeting with the school. Save yourself some time and headache - Get a note from your allergist and doctor specifying the accommodations needed for your child to as 'safe as a non-allergic child' before your IHP/504 meeting and take it with you. If they tell you 'no', that's where the doctor's note comes in.

Now, the accommodations. These are in addition to the ones that are set with the Individualized Health Plan. There are still things that come up that need addressing, but overall, I am satisfied with these accommodations. The only reason I would say I'm not is because of the anxiety we are experiencing and the impact it's having. But for most, these accommodations are probably along the lines of what you want, have asked for, have been denied or recommended by your physician.

• Teacher will prompt Elias to use separate materials to safe guard from exposure in the general education classroom and during specials. Elias will bring his personal materials with him.
• Teacher will clean technology prior to Elias using the device based on the approved cleaning product use. (Note: Provided to school by the County since the County has now officially researched and chosen a tech cleaning product.At the time of the meeting, nothing was approved.)
• Teachers and classroom staff will be directed to wash hands after handling or consuming allergen-containing items.
• Adult should wipe Elias's classroom space daily with soap and water (school soap) at the beginning of the school day, prior to and after snack in the classroom.
• If Elias engages in group work at a new table space, the table will be cleaned with school soap and water.
• A student sitting beside Elias or the two students sitting across from him should not be eating any obvious food allergens during snack in the classroom. Teacher will prompt the student/s eating the obvious allergen to move to another space.
• If there is an obvious known peanut or tree nut allergen in the classroom, the teacher will wipe down the classroom space where the allergen is known with school soap and water.
• Adult should wipe cafeteria surface of eating area and seat with water and soap (school soap) and wipe with paper towel prior to student eating. 
• Staff will adhere to accommodations in the health care plan.
• Classroom protocol - Students will be prompted to wash hands after eating and prior to entering the class.
• The official WCPSS allergen letter stating a student is allergic in the classroom (and to what) will go home with each report card and along with any food-based party/activity in the classroom where food is sent in. (Note: Our teacher was also allowed to send a note in her weekly email if she's seeing nuts during snack to remind parents overall of the allergy and to please not send in nuts. I'm not sure why it took a lawyer for this one, because I've asked the school for reminders to go out since I learned nuts were coming in for snack quite regularly.)

There are several others that are specific to Elias's anxiety around his allergen around him, but I'm leaving those out here. I want to speak to other WCPSS food allergy families and what are reasonable, and recommended from many sources, accommodations.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out now that we have these accommodations and I know some others do as well. I also know from others I've spoken to personally are receiving some, if not all, of the same accommodations (only they didn't need a lawyer). Others are still being told no to accommodations in the list above. Still others were able to easily receive accommodations beyond ours (i.e. all classroom tables wiped down after snack, to which we were told no). 

There needs to be consistency. There needs to be awareness and a new policy across the board. Or, at the very least, the county 504/health services team needs to notify all schools of accommodations that are now allowed. Elias should not receive a cleaned table space and others do not. That's simply not fair, or logical. 

I know we're making baby steps of progress, as I've heard from other food allergy parents recently. But we have a long way to go. I continue to speak to those needing guidance about what to ask for, how to ask, what to do to file a complaint, etc. weekly. This problem touches so many students. WCPSS needs to wake up. It's my prayer and hope that putting this information out there can help others. And, feel free to reach out to me with any questions you may have. 

Join me at facebook.com/ACEadvocacy. That's the best place to reach out, and where I plan to continue updating. I set up ACE Advocacy so I can continue advocacy in a more 'official' manner going forward, even to the state level. It's a safe spot with all of us having the same goals and concerns.

Food allergies are terrifying. Both for us as parents and for our children. They carry the weight of their life on their shoulders, and we have to tell them this so they are advocating for themselves. It's crushing, scary and exhausting. We should, though, feel that they are as safe as other non-allergic students at school. We should be encouraged to obtain a 504 to protect our children. We should not have to fight or be afraid of backlash. 

I hope this is helpful to as many of you as possible. And honestly, reach out. I'm here. I've learned more than I care to have ever wanted to know about this school system. And I've been emotionally struggling through this process, and still am. But helping others and seeing change gives me strength!