<<Disclaimer:  Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

An additional note to the regulations around school lunch:

The *reason* kids with celiac qualify for the dietary modification without
extra cost (or burden) to you is because celiac will fit in their
description of a "handicapping condition" (the wording is very old in the
regs).

HOWEVER, in order to obtain this modification, you MUST have a prescription
from  your doctor. The doctor must state
   1) the "handicapping condition" (celiac disease)
   2) the dietary modification needed (gluten free diet)

Other children who have allergies that are not life-threatening will not
meet the criterion according to a strict interpretation. For instance, a
school district (in theory) could deny this modification to a child who
does not have a diagnosis of celiac disease, even if the parent has had
them on a gluten free diet forever. However, a child with Diabetes would.
An allergy without a doctor's prescription will not meet the criterion.

Last, depending on your school district and how they create meals (cooking
them in the school or cooking them somewhere else and shipping the to the
schools) the staff in teh kitchen may notknow how to handle this. Every
school district that receives money from the school lunch program has a
dietitian available to them at the very least for consultation. Call the
director of food services for your district to connect with that dietitian.
It's not so much the rules of the diet that the staff will need as you can
help wtih that, but how to work it into their current purchasing mechanisms
to keep their costs reasonable. while they are required to provide the
modification, they are not reimbursed at all for any extra funds spent to
meet the need.

If your school district does not receive fudning from teh national school
lunch program, this modification *may* fall under ADA. the national school
lunch act is only applicable to schools receiving funds from the national
school lunch program. Unfortunately, some rural schools do not participate,
and, some school districts have found it more financially attractive to use
contracted services (Pizza hut, taco bell, marriott) instead of the
traditiona school lunch route.

this is all good info if you meet resistance.

Good luck,
Joan E. Guthrie Medlen, RD
(mom to a boy with down syndrome and autism...and probably celiac--we find
otu next week)