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1 | AN ACT concerning education.
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2 | WHEREAS, Food allergies are an increasing food safety and | ||||||
3 | public health concern in the United States, especially among | ||||||
4 | children; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, As recognized by the National Institutes of Health | ||||||
6 | (NIH), food allergies are a life-threatening and debilitating | ||||||
7 | disease for more than 12 million Americans, including more than | ||||||
8 | 4 million children; food allergies affect more than 500,000 | ||||||
9 | Illinois residents, including 93,000 school-aged children | ||||||
10 | (ages 5 through 17); and | ||||||
11 | WHEREAS, Food allergies are increasing at an alarming rate; | ||||||
12 | over a recent 5-year period, the number of children diagnosed | ||||||
13 | with a peanut allergy doubled; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, For many children, eating even a trace amount of | ||||||
15 | an allergenic food can induce a life-threatening reaction; | ||||||
16 | these reactions can include severe vomiting, swelling of the | ||||||
17 | tongue and throat, loss of consciousness, and even death in a | ||||||
18 | relatively short period of time; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, Many of the most common allergens (peanuts, tree | ||||||
20 | nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish) are staples | ||||||
21 | of the average school child's diet and are also used | ||||||
22 | extensively within many Illinois school lesson plans, such as |
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1 | in art and science projects; and | ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, A recent survey of elementary school nurses found | ||||||
3 | that the average school has 10 children suffering from severe | ||||||
4 | food allergies; 44% of the elementary school nurses surveyed | ||||||
5 | indicated that the number of students with food allergies had | ||||||
6 | increased over the previous 5 years, while only 2% reported a | ||||||
7 | decrease; and | ||||||
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WHEREAS, There is currently no cure for this potentially | ||||||
9 | fatal disease, and the only certain path to keep children safe | ||||||
10 | is by following strict safety guidelines specific to each | ||||||
11 | child's individual needs; and | ||||||
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WHEREAS, Despite the rights and protections afforded by | ||||||
13 | Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals | ||||||
14 | with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, and the | ||||||
15 | Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, children with severe | ||||||
16 | food allergies still face unsafe environments in school and | ||||||
17 | elsewhere; and | ||||||
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WHEREAS, There are no consistent food allergy management | ||||||
19 | guidelines in place in the State of Illinois; management | ||||||
20 | approaches differ from school to school; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, In order to ensure the health and safety of all |
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1 | children in the school environment, it is necessary for | ||||||
2 | educators, administrators, and school staff to understand the | ||||||
3 | severity of food allergies and to proactively work with parents | ||||||
4 | and health professionals to create clear and consistent | ||||||
5 | guidelines for managing allergies in the school; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The importance of managing food allergies in the | ||||||
7 | school setting has been recognized by the American Medical | ||||||
8 | Association, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and | ||||||
9 | Immunology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the National | ||||||
10 | Association of School Nurses, the National Association of | ||||||
11 | Elementary School Principals, the National School Boards | ||||||
12 | Association, the American College of Allergy Asthma and | ||||||
13 | Immunology, and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, To create clear and consistent guidelines to | ||||||
15 | provide the best measurable protection within the learning | ||||||
16 | environment and to meet the demands of the dramatically | ||||||
17 | increasing number of children affected by food allergies, the | ||||||
18 | General Assembly deems it in the public interest to enact this | ||||||
19 | Act; therefore | ||||||
20 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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21 | represented in the General Assembly:
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22 | Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Section |
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1 | 2-3.148 as follows: | ||||||
2 | (105 ILCS 5/2-3.148 new) | ||||||
3 | Sec. 2-3.148. Food allergy guidelines. | ||||||
4 | (a) Not later than July 1, 2009, the State Board of | ||||||
5 | Education, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, | ||||||
6 | shall develop and make available to each school board | ||||||
7 | guidelines for the management of students with | ||||||
8 | life-threatening food allergies. The guidelines shall include, | ||||||
9 | but need not be limited to, the following: | ||||||
10 | (1) education and training for school personnel on the | ||||||
11 | management of students with life-threatening food | ||||||
12 | allergies, including training related to the | ||||||
13 | administration of medication with a cartridge injector; | ||||||
14 | (2) procedures for responding to life-threatening | ||||||
15 | allergic reactions to food; | ||||||
16 | (3) a process for the implementation of individualized | ||||||
17 | health care and food allergy action plans for every student | ||||||
18 | with a life-threatening food allergy; and | ||||||
19 | (4) protocols to prevent exposure to food allergens. | ||||||
20 | Notwithstanding any other rulemaking authority that may | ||||||
21 | exist, neither the Governor nor any agency or agency head under | ||||||
22 | the jurisdiction of the Governor has any authority to make or | ||||||
23 | promulgate rules to implement or enforce the provisions of this | ||||||
24 | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. If, however, the | ||||||
25 | Governor believes that rules are necessary to implement or |
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1 | enforce the provisions of this amendatory Act of the 95th | ||||||
2 | General Assembly, the Governor may suggest rules to the General | ||||||
3 | Assembly by filing them with the Clerk of the House and the | ||||||
4 | Secretary of the Senate and by requesting that the General | ||||||
5 | Assembly authorize such rulemaking by law, enact those | ||||||
6 | suggested rules into law, or take any other appropriate action | ||||||
7 | in the General Assembly's discretion. Nothing contained in this | ||||||
8 | amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly shall be | ||||||
9 | interpreted to grant rulemaking authority under any other | ||||||
10 | Illinois statute where such authority is not otherwise | ||||||
11 | explicitly given. For the purposes of this amendatory Act of | ||||||
12 | the 95th General Assembly, "rules" is given the meaning | ||||||
13 | contained in Section 1-70 of the Illinois Administrative | ||||||
14 | Procedure Act, and "agency" and "agency head" are given the | ||||||
15 | meanings contained in Sections 1-20 and 1-25 of the Illinois | ||||||
16 | Administrative Procedure Act to the extent that such | ||||||
17 | definitions apply to agencies or agency heads under the | ||||||
18 | jurisdiction of the Governor. | ||||||
19 | (b) Not later than January 1, 2010, each school board shall | ||||||
20 | implement a policy based on the guidelines developed pursuant | ||||||
21 | to subsection (a) of this Section for the management of | ||||||
22 | students with life-threatening food allergies enrolled in the | ||||||
23 | schools under its jurisdiction.
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