Special Dietary Needs
District’s Responsibility for Meal Modifications:
Federal Child Nutrition Program regulations require Sponsors (Piper School District) to provide reasonable modifications to Program meals or the meal service to accommodate participants with disabilities that restrict a child’s diet on a case-by-case basis and only when supported by a written statement from a State licensed healthcare professional who is authorized to write medical prescriptions under State law. Sponsors have the option to accommodate special dietary needs that do not constitute a disability, including those related to religious or moral convictions or personal preference.
Definition of Disability:
Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a “person with a disability” means “any person who has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activity, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment.”
Major life activities covered by this definition include caring for one’s self, eating, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, working and major bodily functions. The term “physical or mental impairment” includes, but is not limited to, such diseases, conditions, and functions as:
- Orthopedic, visual, speech and hearing impairments
- Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Muscular Dystrophy and Multiple Sclerosis
- Digestive, bowel and bladder
- Neurological and brain
- Respiratory
- Cancer
- Cardiovascular, circulatory and heart
- Metabolic and endocrine
- Food anaphylaxis (severe food allergy)
- Intellectual disability
- Emotional illness
- Drug addiction and alcoholism
Individuals who take mitigating measures to improve or control any of the conditions recognized as a disability are still considered to have a disability and require an accommodation. Sponsors participating in the Child Nutrition Programs are required to make substitutions or modifications to the meal requirements for those students with disabilities who are unable to consume the meals offered to non-disabled students.
Required Documentation:
A student who requires a meal modification based on the above information will be required to have their licensed physician (MD or DO), a physician’s assistant (PA), or an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) complete the Medical Statement to Request Meal Modification, Form 19-B. Once the form is completed, it must be submitted to your student’s School Nurse and Food Service Director. The Medical Statement to Request Meal Modification, Form 19-B, must be updated whenever the medical authority changes the student's diet. A new form will need to be completed each school year and provided to the School Nurse and Food Service Director. Click the link below to access the form.