Parents: Allergies and Anaphylaxis

Since nuts and nut products are the most common allergens, we have a very strict “NO NUTS AND NUT PRODUCTS” policy at the school.

Sabrina’s Law
An Act to Protect Anaphylactic Pupils (Sabrina’s Law)
An Act of Ontario Parliament, Legislature Bill 3, also known as Sabrina’s Law came into affect January 1, 2006. The purpose of this legislation is to protect anaphylactic students.

The Act requires that every school board establish and maintain an anaphylaxis policy, which must include, among other things, strategies to reduce risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents, a communication plan for the dissemination of information on life threatening allergies, regular training on dealing with life threatening allergies, a requirement that every school principal develop an individual plan for each pupil who has an anaphylactic allergy and a requirement that every school principal maintain a file for each anaphylactic pupil.

The individual plan for a pupil with an anaphylactic allergy must include details on the type of allergy, monitoring and avoidance strategies and appropriate treatment, a readily accessible emergency procedure for the pupil and storage for Epinephrine auto injectors.

In order to protect students within our school community it is critical for parents of children with an anaphylactic allergy to do the following:

• Inform the school principal of your child’s allergies
• Work with the school to complete an Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan which has the child’s photograph, allergy information, contact information and emergency plan
• Provide a medic alert bracelet for your child to wear at all times
• Provide at least two epinephrine auto-injector (EpiPens) that may be kept in the office or in a mutually agreed upon location with the school
• Parents should keep a log of expiry dates and replace outdated auto-injectors

We encourage all those within our school community to become familiar with signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis and how to respond or access assistance in the event of an anaphylactic emergency. Together we can help create a secure and supportive learning environment for all of our students.