110 HR 2063 RH: Amend the title so as to read: U.S. House of Representatives 2008-04-08 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IB Union Calendar No. 353 110th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 2063 [Report No. 110–571, Part I] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 26, 2007 Mrs. Lowey (for herself, Mr. Emanuel, Mr. McDermott, and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned April 8, 2008 Additional sponsors: Mr. Keller of Florida, Mrs. Maloney of New York, Mr. Kirk, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Israel, Ms. McCollum of Minnesota, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Upton, Mr. LoBiondo, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Andrews, Mr. Kagen, Mr. Walsh of New York, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Pitts, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Kucinich, Mr. Gordon of Tennessee, Mr. Patrick J. Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Markey, Mr. Saxton, Mr. Michaud, Mr. Allen, Mr. Hall of New York, Mr. Yarmuth, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Carnahan, Mrs. Capps, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts, Ms. DeGette, Mr. Moran of Virginia, Mr. Rush, Mr. Stupak, Mr. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, Mr. Towns, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Holt, Ms. Solis, Ms. Clarke, Mr. Cummings, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Bean, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Rodriguez, Mrs. Blackburn, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Sarbanes, Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Souder, Mr. Wynn, Ms. Shea-Porter, Mr. Hare, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Gene Green of Texas, Mr. Ferguson, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Matheson, Mr. Altmire, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. Ruppersberger, Mr. Putnam, Mr. Ross, Mr. Tierney, Mr. Engel, Mr. Lampson, Ms. Hooley, Mr. Fossella, and Mr. Payne April 8, 2008 Reported from the Committee on Energy and Commerce with amendments Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic April 8, 2008 Committee on Education and Labor discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 26, 2007 A BILL To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop a voluntary policy for managing the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools, to establish school-based food allergy management grants, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2008.

2.

Findings

Congress finds as follows: (1)Food allergy is an increasing food safety and public health concern in the United States, especially among students. (2)Peanut allergy doubled among children from 1997 to 2002. (3)In a 2004 survey of 400 elementary school nurses, 37 percent reported having at least 10 students with severe food allergies and 62 percent reported having at least 5. (4)Forty-four percent of the elementary school nurses surveyed reported that the number of students in their school with food allergy had increased over the past 5 years, while only 2 percent reported a decrease. (5)In a 2001 study of 32 fatal food-allergy induced anaphylactic reactions (the largest study of its kind to date), more than half (53 percent) of the individuals were aged 18 or younger. (6)Eight foods account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy. (7)Currently, there is no cure for food allergies; strict avoidance of the offending food is the only way to prevent a reaction. (8)Anaphylaxis is a systemic allergic reaction that can kill within minutes. (9)Food-allergic reactions are the leading cause of anaphylaxis outside the hospital setting, accounting for an estimated 30,000 emergency room visits, 2,000 hospitalizations, and 150 to 200 deaths each year in the United States. (10)Fatalities from anaphylaxis are associated with a delay in the administration of epinephrine (adrenaline), or when epinephrine was not administered at all. In a study of 13 food allergy-induced anaphylactic reactions in school-age children (6 fatal and 7 near fatal), only 2 of the children who died received epinephrine within 1 hour of ingesting the allergen, and all but 1 of the children who survived received epinephrine within 30 minutes. (11)The importance of managing life-threatening food allergies in the school setting has been recognized by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and the National Association of School Nurses. (12)There are no Federal guidelines concerning the management of life-threatening food allergies in the school setting. (13)Three-quarters of the elementary school nurses surveyed reported developing their own training guidelines. (14)Relatively few schools actually employ a full-time school nurse. Many are forced to cover more than 1 school, and are often in charge of hundreds if not thousands of students. (15)Parents of students with severe food allergies often face entirely different food allergy management approaches when their students change schools or school districts. (16)In a study of food allergy reactions in schools and day-care settings, delays in treatment were attributed to a failure to follow emergency plans, calling parents instead of administering emergency medications, and an inability to administer epinephrine.

3.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

ESEA definitions

The terms local educational agency, secondary school, and elementary school have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). (2)

School

The term school includes public— (A)kindergartens; (B)elementary schools; and (C)secondary schools. (3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education.

4.

Establishment of voluntary food allergy and anaphylaxis management policy

(a)

Establishment

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— (1)develop a policy to be used on a voluntary basis to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools; and (2)make such policy available to local educational agencies and other interested individuals and entities, including licensed child care providers, preschool programs, and Head Start, to be implemented on a voluntary basis only. (b)

Contents

The voluntary policy developed by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall contain guidelines that address each of the following: (1)Parental obligation to provide the school, prior to the start of every school year, with— (A)documentation from the student’s physician or nurse— (i)supporting a diagnosis of food allergy and the risk of anaphylaxis; (ii)identifying any food to which the student is allergic; (iii)describing, if appropriate, any prior history of anaphylaxis; (iv)listing any medication prescribed for the student for the treatment of anaphylaxis; (v)detailing emergency treatment procedures in the event of a reaction; (vi)listing the signs and symptoms of a reaction; and (vii)assessing the student’s readiness for self-administration of prescription medication; and (B)a list of substitute meals that may be offered to the student by school food service personnel. (2)The creation and maintenance of an individual health care plan tailored to the needs of each student with a documented risk for anaphylaxis, including any procedures for the self-administration of medication by such students in instances where— (A)the students are capable of self-administering medication; and (B)such administration is not prohibited by State law. (3)Communication strategies between individual schools and local providers of emergency medical services, including appropriate instructions for emergency medical response. (4)Strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms and common school areas such as cafeterias. (5)The dissemination of information on life-threatening food allergies to school staff, parents, and students, if appropriate by law. (6)Food allergy management training of school personnel who regularly come into contact with students with life-threatening food allergies. (7)The authorization and training of school personnel to administer epinephrine when the school nurse is not immediately available. (8)The timely accessibility of epinephrine by school personnel when the nurse is not immediately available. (9)Extracurricular programs such as non-academic outings and field trips, before- and after-school programs, and school-sponsored programs held on weekends that are addressed in the individual health care plan. (10)The collection and publication of data for each administration of epinephrine to a student at risk for anaphylaxis. (c)

Relation to State law

Nothing in this Act or the policy developed by the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be construed to preempt State law, including any State law regarding whether students at risk for anaphylaxis may self-administer medication.

5.

Voluntary nature of policy and guidelines

The policy developed by the Secretary under section 4(a) and the food allergy management guidelines contained in such policy are voluntary. Nothing in this Act or the policy developed by the Secretary under section 4(a) shall be construed to require a local educational agency or school to implement such policy or guidelines.

Amend the title so as to read: A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, to develop a voluntary policy for managing the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools.. April 8, 2008 Committee on Education and Labor discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed