But My School Says They Don't 'DO' 504's?!?!

If I had a dollar for every time I heard some one state "But my school says they don't do 504's for food allergies.  They are great at taking care of kiddos so they don't need anything but an IHCP (Individual Health Care Plan)", I would be living somewhere VERY warm right now!

Let's begin by talking about what a 504 is.  A "504" is a plan that references Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.  Under this act, "qualified handicapped" (yes, the term is a little dated) individuals are entitled to accommodations under the act.  In terms of food allergies, for a long time, schools would (successfully) argue that things that mitigated the allergy allowed them to not develop a plan.  However, the under the Amendments Act of 2008, those evaluating cannot look at mitigating measures when determining eligibility (for greater detail on this, check question 13 on the OCR's page discussing this.

Now that we understand 504 just a bit better, we can return to the original question about schools that "don't do 504's".  All schools have an obligation to identify and evaluate student's with disabilities (this is referred to as Child Find).  If your school is saying this in the course of conversation, my best suggestion would be to send a written request (either email or certified mail) requesting a 504 evaluation on the basis of life threatening food allergies.  Do not talk about accommodations...only evaluation.  If they using this as the grounds for denial, then you can pursue the remedies available to you as outlined in your procedural safeguard manual (sorry...since we are not attorneys, they won't let us say much more than that!).

Just remember...any school willing to accommodate should be willing to write it down.

All of this said, if you walk into a school and get the impression that there is nothing you can do to convince them to keep your kid safe, you need decide if this is the right choice for you.  You can file complaints, lawsuits, and bury them in paperwork until the cows come home, but you will never be able to force compassion.  At the end of the day, you know your kiddo and what they need...go with your gut!