LYNNFIELD–Members of the town’s School Committee recommended changing the language in one of the current rules outlined in the Lynnfield Public Schools Life-Threatening Allergies Management Guidelines after several parents advocated for a “parent choice” amendment that would allow them to opt their children out of the current policy.
Under the Cafeteria/Lunchroom Plan of the LPS Life-Threatening Allergies Management Guidelines, the third requirement currently states that “students at the elementary schools, with diagnosed life-threatening food allergies and are prescribed an EpiPen, must eat at the nut-safe tables.” At a recent meeting, School Committee member Jim Dillon recommended removing the language that says the students “must eat at the nut-safe tables,” replacing it with language saying that “nut-safe tables will be provided in the cafeteria of all the schools during lunch.”
Dillon said that his recommendation, along with Committee member Jenny Sheehan’s and Interim Superintendent Tom Geary’s recommendations, incorporated advice from the legal counsel, Attorney Kelly Gonzalez. According to Dillon, Gonalez said that her recommended course of action would be to handle the matter in a more individualized basis which would allow everyone to discuss and sign off on their accommodation.
“The current language looks to me possibly illegal,” Dillon said. “Definitely could be a violation of a child’s rights.”
School Committee Chair Kate DePrizio said the committee has done a lot of due diligence on the matter, they have spoken to school principals and nursing staff, and have observed a couple of school lunches firsthand.
“So you are free to sit at a different table, but the table is still there for families and for students who feel that they absolutely need that,” DePrizio said, clarifying what the recommendation means.
Sheehan said that they also implemented in their recommendations, a document arranged by around 30 parents and sent to Sheehan by parent Leah Hook, who had started advocating for the opt out policy since the fall of 2022 when the policy changed from being able to opt out to not being able to opt out. According to Hook, the document talks through a lot of the concerns and issues parents had about the policy, how it has impacted their children’s day-to-day lives, and how it ultimately does not keep everyone safe.
Geary said that his recommendation would be what Dillon recommended, and that implementing it would be a “work in progress.”
“There’s many more discussions to be had,” Geary said. “There will be meetings, with a plan to implement this on the first day of school next year. Next couple weeks, hopefully it’ll firm up.”
DePrizio said the goal would be to vote on the matter at their next meeting on June 4, which will include an opportunity for public participation.
Additionally, members of the Lynnfield School Committee unanimously voted against the district participating in the inter-district school choice program.
“Historically, LPS has never participated in school choice,” Geary said. “The main reason is that we’re dedicated to maintaining smaller class sizes and welcoming students from other towns could potentially increase class sizes beyond where we want them to be. It could collect revenue, but that’s definitely not a priority.”
