Education Experts Share Ways of Developing Food Allergy Policies for Schools
June 18, 2009 Kyriaki (Sandy) Venetis 
Graphic courtesy of achooallergy.com.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.- Witnessing the number of school age children with food allergies increase “dramatically” over the last decade, “schools now have a critical role to play in preventing medical emergencies as well as responding to such emergencies,” said Brenda Z. Greene, director of school health programs at the National School Board Association, Alexandria, Va.
Ms. Greene gave her comments during the second session of the School Nutrition Foundation’s three-part webinar series. In this second session dealing with food allergy management policy making, Ms. Greene added that, “policy is the underpinning of the government in the local school districts and schools.
“The 15,000 school boards across the country are governed by the policies they adopt, which must comply with federal, state, and local laws.”
Ms. Greene though cautioned, saying, “We learned that one size does not fit all and policy needs to protect, but it also needs to be flexible. Local conditions and capacities vary.”
As part of developing policy strategies that can be incorporate into school districts around the country, the NSBA is working with the Division of Adolescent School Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.