Peanut-Allergy Research Suggests Schools Need Reasonable Policies

Contact: Sid Mitchell, (207) 581-3435

ORONO — To better protect students with potentially life-threatening peanut allergies, schools should implement comprehensive food allergy action plans that include age-appropriate accommodations, personnel training and communication with parents, according to two education researchers.

Dianne Hoff at the University of West Georgia, who conducts research on the social/political context of schooling, and Sid Mitchell at the University of Maine, who specializes in educational psychology, studied the practical, legal and psychological issues related to the peanut allergy controversy. Many schools are being pressured to become peanut-free zones — a strategy medical and legal experts say is not a good idea.

The researchers conducted literature and law reviews, and interviewed doctors, school superintendents and parents of children with and without peanut allergies. They concluded that food allergy action plans are legally defensible, realistic approaches for schools that support students with allergies in ways that protect them from harm and promote their independence.

Hoff and Mitchell say that creating peanut-free schools would be impractical if not nearly impossible. Instead, for children in grades K–3 who may not be able to analyze what is in the food they eat or are exposed to, the researchers suggest schools consider peanut-free classrooms and peanut-free sections of cafeterias or snack areas. Teachers, parents and administrators should empower students with allergies to take a central role in planning classroom accommodations, which also will help educate others to become more accepting and supportive of other students’ needs.

Just as students with medical conditions like diabetes are taught to self-sufficiently manage their conditions, so too should students with food allergies, Hoff and Mitchell suggest.

“By the upper grades (9-12), students are really in training for postsecondary experiences and for life,” according to the researchers, whose findings were published in the April issue of Phi Delta Kappan. “Keeping these students in peanut-free bubble is a disservice to them because it wouldn’t mirror the world they’re preparing to face.”