Illinois Food Allergy Bill Signed into Law
On August 13, 2009, Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois signed into law HB281, an amendment to the School Code, which requires all Illinois school districts to create guidelines for accommodating students with food allergies.
Under the new legislation, the State Board of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Public Health, must develop the guidelines and make them available to each school board. The guidelines will include education and training for school personnel who interact with students with life-threatening food allergies. They will be developed by a committee comprising food allergy experts, representatives on behalf of food-allergic students, and representatives from public school management organizations, including administrators, teachers, principals, and school board members. The bill recommends that each board be required to implement a policy based on the guidelines by January 1, 2011.
This important legislation was the product of two years of work by Illinois parent advocates, including Denise Bunning, a member of FAI’s Advocacy Steering Committee and co-founder of Mothers of Children Having Allergies (MOCHA), a Chicago-area support group.