|
DEFINITIONS OF DISABILITY AND OF OTHER SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a "person with a disability" means any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. The term "physical or mental impairment" includes many diseases and conditions, a few of which may be:
|
orthopedic, visual, speech, and hearing impairments;
|
metabolic diseases, such as diabetes or phenylketonuria (PKU)
|
|
cerebral palsy;
|
Heart disease
|
|
epilepsy;
|
food anaphylaxis (severe food allergy)
|
|
muscular dystrophy;
|
mental retardation
|
|
multiple sclerosis
|
emotional illness
|
|
cancer
|
drug addiction and alcoholism
|
|
specific learning disabilities
|
HIV disease
|
|
tuberculosis
|
|
Please refer to the Acts noted above for a more detailed explanation.
Major life activities covered by this definition include caring for one's self, eating, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
The term child with a "disability" under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) means a child evaluated in accordance with IDEA as having one or more of the recognized thirteen disability categories and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services.
IDEA recognizes thirteen disability categories which establish a child's need for special education and related services. These disabilities include:
|
Autism
|
Deaf-blindness
|
|
Deafness or other hearing impairments
|
Mental Retardation
|
|
Orthopedic impairments
|
Emotional disturbance
|
|
Specific learning disabilities
|
Speech or language impairment
|
|
Traumatic brain injury
|
Multiple disabilities
|
|
Other health impairments due to chronic or acute health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, nephritis, sickle cell anemia, a heart condition, epilepsy, rheumatic fever, hemophilia, leukemia, lead poisoning, tuberculosis;
|
Visual impairment; including blindness, which adversely affects a child’s educational performance.
|
Attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may fall under one of the thirteen categories. Classification depends upon the particular characteristics associated with the disorder and how the condition manifests itself in the student, which determines the category.
The Individualized Education Program or IEP means a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with the IDEA and its implementing regulations. The IEP is the cornerstone of the student’s educational program that contains the program of special education and related services to be provided to a child with a disability covered under the IDEA.
NOTE: Some states supplement the IEP with a written statement specifically designed to address a student’s nutritional needs. Other states employ a “Health Care Plan” to address the nutritional needs of their students. For ease of reference, the term “IEP” is used to reflect the IEP as well as any written statement designating the required nutrition services. When nutrition services are required under a child's IEP, school officials need to make sure that school food service staff is involved early on in decisions regarding special meals.
USDA regulations 7 CFR Part 15b require substitutions or modifications in school meals for children whose disabilities restrict their diets. A child with a disability must be provided substitutions in foods when that need is supported by a statement signed by a licensed physician. The physician's statement must identify:
- the child's disability;
- an explanation of why the disability restricts the child's diet;
- the major life activity affected by the disability;
- the food or foods to be omitted from the child's diet, and the food or choice of foods that must be substituted.
The form (Figure 1), in Appendix A, is adapted from the USDA guidance: Accommodating Children with Special Needs: Guidance for School Food Service Staff, and may be used to obtain the required information from the physician
Generally, children with food allergies or intolerances do not have a disability as defined under either Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or Part B of IDEA, and the school food service may, but is not required to, make food substitutions for them.
However, when in the licensed physician's assessment, food allergies may result in severe, life-threatening (anaphylactic) reactions, the child's condition would meet the definition of "disability," and the substitutions prescribed by the licensed physician must be made.
The school food service may make food substitutions, at their discretion, for individual children who do not have a disability, but who are medically certified as having a special medical or dietary need.
Such determinations are only made on a case-by-case basis. This provision covers those children who have food intolerances or allergies but do not have life-threatening reactions (anaphylactic reactions) when exposed to the food(s) to which they have problems.
| 
