Children with Disabilities and Special Dietary Needs

Schools participating in a federal school meal program (National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Special Milk Program, and Afterschool Snack Program) are required to make reasonable accommodations for children who are unable to eat the school meals because of a disability that restricts the diet.

Medical Plan of Care for School Food Service Form

Licensed Medical Authority's Statement for Children with Disabilities

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulations at 7 CFR Part 15b require substitutions ormodifications in school meals for children whose disabilities restrict their diets. School food authoritiesmust provide modifications for children on a case-by-case basis when requests are supported by awritten statement from a state licensed medical authority.

The third page of this document (“Medical Plan of Care for School Food Service”) may be used to obtain the required information from the licensed medical authority. For this purpose, a state licensed medical authority in Pennsylvania includes a:

Physician,
Physician assistant,
Certified registered nurse practitioner, or
Dentist.

The written medical statement must include:

An explanation of how the child’s physical or mental impairment restricts the child’s diet;
An explanation of what must be done to accommodate the child; and
The food or foods to be omitted and recommended alternatives, if appropriate

Other Special Dietary Needs

School food service staff may make food substitutions for individual children who do not have a medicalstatement on file. Such determinations are made on a case-by-case basis and all accommodations mustbe made according to USDA’s meal pattern requirements. Schools are encouraged, but not required, tohave documentation on file when making menu modifications within the meal pattern.

Special dietary needs and requests, including those related to general health concerns, personal preferences, and moral or religious convictions, are not disabilities and are optional for school food authorities to accommodate. Meal modifications for non-disability reasons are reimbursable provided that these meals adhere to Program regulations.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, a person with a disability means any person who has a physicalor mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities or major bodily functions,has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. A physical or mentalimpairment does not need to be life threatening in order to constitute a disability. If it limits a major lifeactivity, it is considered a disability.

Major life activities include, but are not limited to: caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. A major life activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to: functions of the immune system; normal cell growth; and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

A child with a disability under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is described as a child evaluated in accordance with IDEA as having one or more of the recognized thirteen disabilitycategories and who, by reason thereof, needs special education and related services. The Individualized

Education Program (IEP) is a written statement for a child with a disability that is developed, reviewed,and revised in accordance with the IDEA and its implementing regulations. When nutrition services arerequired under a child's IEP, school officials need to ensure that school food service staff is involvedearly in decisions regarding special meals. If an IEP or 504 plan includes the same information that is required on a medical statement (see section 1, above), then it is not necessary to get a separatemedical statement.

USDA Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letteraddressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and awritten description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the AssistantSecretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. Thecompleted AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

Mail	U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
Fax	(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
Email	program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

ATTENTION: If you speak Spanish, language assistance services, free of charge, are available to you. Contact your child’s school.

ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios gratuitos de asistencia lingüística. Communiques con la escuela de su niño.

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