Health & Wellness

The incidence of severe and life-threatening allergies has been rising over the past several years. Some individuals who are very sensitive may react to just touching or inhaling the allergen. For other individuals, minimal exposure may cause death. Eight foods (peanut, tree nut, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish) account for most of the total food allergies, although any food has the potential to cause an allergic reaction. Insect stings and latex allergies are other common allergens found in school-aged children which may cause a severe reaction.

It is important that students, families, physicians, and school personnel work collaboratively to create a safe learning environment for all. Education, formal procedures, and safe practices are key.

The following provides guidelines to support students with life-threatening allergies, minimize the risk of accidental exposure to allergens, and indicate our plan to recognize and manage allergic reactions and anaphylaxis at school.

Guidelines for Allergies: Food, Latex, or Insect Venom

Responsibilities for Parents and Guardians

• Inform the school of your child’s allergies during the enrollment process prior to the school year or immediately after initial diagnosis.
• Participate in developing a Health Care Plan and update yearly during the enrollment process prior to the start of the school year or immediately after initial diagnosis.
• Parents and guardians requesting that medication be administered to their child must complete a Medication Distribution Form and must follow all applicable procedures outlined In keeping with Board of Education Policy 5330.
• Provide annual updates on your child’s allergy status including details of symptom.
• Provide the school with current phone numbers and emergency contacts at the start of each school year during the enrollment process and as changes are made.
• Provide up-to-date Epi-Pens and other necessary medications at the start of each school year or immediately after initial diagnosis and refill as necessary.
• Consider providing your child with a medical alert bracelet.

Food Allergy

• Review school lunch menus and send cold lunch with your child on days when eating a school hot lunch may not be a safe choice. Menus, including ingredients and other information such as carb counts, are available on Nutrislice. (Access through our website (top navigation menu) or download the free Nutrislice app to your smart phone.) Teachers are not responsible for monitoring ingredients of hot lunches.
• All schools provide peanut-sensitive tables in cafeterias. If your child should sit at a peanut-sensitive table or other allergy-aware table, please discuss with school personnel and/or the district nurse.
• Teach your child to recognize safe and unsafe food items and advise them not to share snacks, lunches, or drinks with others.

Latex Allergy

• Teach your child to recognize products that may contain latex and/or food items that are considered cross-reactive foods. Advise them to avoid these products and food items.
• Teach your child to report any symptoms of an allergic reaction to their teacher and/or supervising adult immediately.
• Students in grades 4K-5 are not permitted to carry an EpiPen in bags or backpacks. EpiPens should be stored in school offices. Students in grades 6-12 may carry their own Epi-Pen if their physician recommends doing so in a formal Emergency Action Plan. Families are encouraged to keep a “back-up” EpiPen in the school health office as well. EpiPens should not be stored in cars or lockers where they are not easily accessible and exposed to cold or heat. Parents and guardians requesting that their child be permitted to carry and self-administer an EpiPen or inhaler must complete the applicable consent form and follow all procedures outline in Board Policy 5330: Administration of Medication.

Responsibilities of Student with Allergies

 

Food Allergy

• Do not trade or share food or utensils.
• Do not eat anything with unknown ingredients.
  • Wash hands or use hand wipes before and after eating. Hand sanitizers will not eliminate allergens.
  • Notify a teacher or other school personnel if they eat something they believe may contain the food to which they are allergic.

Latex Allergy

• Refrain from handling items that may contain latex (health care products, rubber bands, gym equipment, art supplies, and balloons).
• Notify teacher or other school personnel if contact occurs with an item that contains or may contain latex.

Insect Venom Allergy

• Notify a teacher or other school personnel immediately if stung by an insect (bee, wasp, or other insect with venom).
• Learn to recognize symptoms of an allergic reaction.
• Notify a teacher or other school personnel immediately if an allergic reaction occurs.
• Wear a medic alert bracelet, if provided by your parents.
• Know how to administer own EpiPen and/or inhaler (if permitted to carry and self-administer an EpiPen or inhaler under Board Policy 5330: Administration of Medication.
• Notify school personnel, school office, health room personnel, or the activity supervisor immediately if an EpiPen is used.
• Keep authorized EpiPen and/or inhaler in designated location and do not share medications with others.

Responsibilities of Building Administrators

• Follow all applicable federal laws, including Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, FERPA, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as well as all state laws and district policies and procedures that may apply to students with life-threatening allergies, including but not limited to Board Policy 8330: Student Records and policies/procedures pertaining to the confidentiality of student records.
• Have knowledge of all Emergency Action Plans for students with life-threatening allergies in their building.
• When appropriate, familiarize teachers with the Emergency Action Plans of their students and any other staff member who has contact with the student on a need-to-know basis.
• Reinforce with staff the need to develop a cleaning protocol to minimize the risk of exposure to food and latex allergens.
• Reinforce a no-food and no-utensil trading/sharing best practice.
• Post allergy alert signs in buildings as appropriate.
• Establish a system for notifying food service staff of students with a life-threatening allergies. Provide a copy of the Emergency Action Plan when appropriate.
• Establish a communication plan for school activities including physical education, playground, and field trips that involve a student with life-threatening allergies.
• Establish a system for assuring appropriate staff have access to Emergency Action Plans within the classroom.
• Establish a system for the storage and monitoring of EpiPens in the health office. They should be periodically checked for expiration dates and parents notified of need for refills.
• Establish a system for sending EpiPens and Emergency Action Plans on field trips.

Responsibilities of the School Nurse

• Review and retain all forms and documents submitted by parents and medical professionals related to students with life-threatening allergies.
• Develop an Emergency Action Plan for students with a life-threatening allergy in collaboration with parents and health care provider as needed.
• Assist the building administrator in providing information about students with life-threatening allergies to staff as needed.
• Provide copies of complete Emergency Action Plans (paper or electronic) to each building prior to the beginning of the school year and update as needed during the school year.
• Update student information system records during enrollment process and as needed when the parent or medical provider submits information regarding an allergy health condition.
• Provide DPI-approved training to authorized school personnel and authorized contract employees (e.g. bus company), including:
  • Recognizing the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis
  • Responding to allergic reactions
  • Use of an EpiPen
  • Follow up procedures needed after an allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, and/or use of an EpiPen
• Maintain records of all staff trainings related to students with life-threatening allergies.
• Work with the bus company regarding students who may require the assistance of the bus driver to transport an EpiPen.

Responsibilities of the Food Service Provider

• Provide families with access to a list of food ingredients.
• Work with families of students with allergies to provide accommodations in menu items when appropriate.
• Use effective practices, such as color coding, to prevent cross-contamination of common food allergens on kitchen surfaces, equipment, or utensils.
• Train all staff members in effective, safe-handling practices.
• Sanitize tables following each lunch period.
• Follow all applicable federal laws, policies, and procedures pertaining to the confidentiality of student information.

Responsibilities of Teachers

• Review the classroom health concerns list prior to the start of school which includes Emergency Action Plans of any student identified with life-threatening allergies.
• Participate in any meetings for students with life-threatening allergies as needed.
• Never question or hesitate to act immediately if a student reports signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction.

Classroom Considerations

Use allergen-free products for classroom activities such as art, science projects, cooking, celebrations, and using math manipulatives). Modify class materials as needed.

Head lice is a pest that at times can appear in our homes and on our children’s heads. Anyone can contract head lice, but it most often appears with younger children. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with the existence of head lice.

The district follows best practice recommendations regarding head lice set forth by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction School Nursing Guidelines, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Association of School Nurses.

Head Lice Attendance Guidelines

If a student is found to have nits (head lice eggs), further checking for live lice will be recommended on a daily basis for 2 weeks. Students with nits will be allowed to remain in school, rather than be sent home early.

If a student is found to have live lice, his/her parent will be notified and treatment will be recommended. The student will need to be picked up from school. Treatment needs to occur at home before the child can return to school the next day. The student will be checked the next day upon arrival at school. If found to have live lice, the student will need to be picked up again.

In previous years, the district had a “no-nits” policy. However, based on the recommendations from the above mentioned organizations, we no longer follow that policy. If students have nits, they are allowed to remain in school for the following reasons:

• Nits that are more than ½ inch from the scalp are usually not viable and unlikely to hatch to become crawling lice.
• Nits are cemented to hair shafts and are very unlikely to be transferred to other people.
• Misdiagnosis of nits is very common during nit checks by nonmedical personnel.

Head Lice Screening at School

MTSD schools do not check classrooms or grade levels for lice. Research has shown that head lice screening programs have not had a significant effect on the incidence of head lice in the school setting. According to the National Association of School Nurses publication, by the time a child with active head lice has been identified, he or she may have had it for over a month and therefore poses little additional risk of transmission to others. Further, screenings have significant potential to violate children’s privacy.

Notification of Head Lice

There is no evidence to support the claim that letters sent home to parents prevent the transmission of head lice, and may, in fact, be a violation of privacy and confidentiality. Parents do not have a legal right to information regarding a certain student’s health condition. As such, MTSD does not share information with parents or students regarding the presence of head lice in classrooms or schools.

The district has made a commitment to provide health education to all students. One vital element of health education is the instruction of human growth and development. While a child's parent is and will continue to be the primary educator, district educators will provide accurate and current information and materials that promote health and awareness to the students.

We firmly believe that a comprehensive human growth and development curriculum is about the development of the whole student. The curriculum emphasizes the individual’s safety, respect, responsibility and sexual risk avoidance.

For additional curricular resources and information regarding the human growth and development curriculum, please visit our Curriculum Page and click the "Human Growth & Development" tabs by grade level.  Please note that Human Growth & Development is housed under "Phy Ed & Wellness" at the high school level.

Wisconsin law requires written evidence of immunization against certain diseases within 30 school days of a child's admission. Please review the following resources for further information about vaccinations and Wisconsin Immunization Requirements. See the Department of Health Services website for more details.

Student Immunization Law Age/Grade Requirements

Grade/Age		Number of Doses
Pre-K (Ages 2-4)		4DTaP/DTP/DT2	3 Hepatitis B6	1 MMR7	1 Varicella8
Kindergarten- Grade 5		4 DTaP1/DTP/DT/Td2,3	3 Hepatitis B6	1 MMR7	2 Varicella8
Grades 6-12	1 Tdap4	4 DTaP/DTP/DT/Td2	3 Hepatitis B6	2 MMR7	2 Varicella8
Grade 7	1 MenACWY (1st dose)
Grade 12	1 MenACWY (2nd dose)

Printable PDF copy of Wisconsin Department of Health services Immunization Requirements.

Printable PDF copy of Wisconsin Immunization Record.

In keeping with Board of Education Policy 5330, Administration of Medication, and following guidance established by the Department of Public Instruction, all medication that is administered to students or taken by a student while at school requires a permission form, including over-the-counter medications. If the medication is a prescription, a physician's signature is required. Parents, please download the following form, complete it, and return it to your school office. The form below should be completed for both prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Medication Administration Permission Form

 

If your child has any of the following conditions, please download the appropriate corresponding form, complete, sign, and return the form to your child's school office.

Asthma/Exercise Induced Bronchospasm Emergency Action Plan

Allergy Emergency Action Plan

Migraine Emergency Action Plan

Diabetes Emergency Action Plan

Heart Condition Emergency Action Plans:

• SVT
• Wolff Parkinson White
• Other Heart Conditions 

Bleeding Disorder Emergency Action Plan

Seizure Emergency Action Plan

 

 

 

• Health Documentation Timeline
• Medical Condition Sign-Off Form
• Medical Clearance Following Injury Form
• Parental Consent Form for School Health Services

Following are some guidelines for when to keep an ill child at home. These are the same guidelines we use in determining when to send ill children home from school. Please remember that during school, children are in close contact with each other. Keeping ill children home at the first signs of illness helps prevent the spread of that illness to other students and staff members.

Fever	Over 100.0 especially if other symptoms are present. Your child should be free of fever for 24 hours (without the use of Tylenol/Ibuprofen or any other fever reducers) before returning to school.
Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea	Students should not return to school until 24 hours after the last time they vomited or had diarrhea.
Rash	DO NOT send a child with a rash to school until they have been seen by a physician (documentation must be provided to school). If your child has an undiagnosed rash at school, you will be notified to pick them up, and they may not return to school until rash is resolved or a physician’s clearance is provided to the school.
Eye drainage	May indicate conjunctivitis (pink eye), a common infectious disease of the eye. It is caused by both bacteria and viruses. Students will be excluded from school when thick drainage is seen and may not return to school until a physician’s note is provided to the school.
Mild cough/cold symptoms	If there is no fever and the child feels well enough to attend school, school is fine. If the cough is frequent, productive, or 'bark-like,' please keep your child home.