Schools have a duty to accommodate students with food allergies, but the law stops short of requiring school to ban specific foods, researchers contend.
Schools have a duty to accommodate students with food allergies, but the law stops short of requiring school to ban specific foods, researchers contend.
Having a food allergy is legally considered a disability that must be accommodated in Canadian schools, but food bans are not legally required, according to a new University of Alberta-led study.
“Given the prevalence of childhood food allergies and the amount of time kids spend at school where they may be exposed to allergens, we set out to better understand Canadian laws and policies that apply to managing food allergies in the school setting,” said Timothy Caulfield, research director of the U of A’s Health Law Institute, who led the study.
“Since food allergy is a disability, it triggers a legal duty for schools to ensure that food-allergic students receive fair treatment and are not discriminated against due to an allergy,” he explained.
Continue reading at University of Alberta.
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