Allergies and Anaphylaxis

  • While Hays CISD cannot guarantee an allergy-free environment at school, the district is committed to doing everything possible to ensure the safety of every child who has allergies. Hays CISD has developed guidelines to manage students with these life threatening allergies so that they may safely participate in the educational process. If your child has severe food or environmental allergies, it is important to share this with the school nurse each year. Parents of children with known anaphylaxis are expected to provide a allergy action plan, orders for medications, and an individual supply of emergency medication to the campus nurse each year.

Medication Forms

Emergency Medications

  • All campuses have an emergency supply of epinephrine that school nurses or other trained school employees may administer in the event of an unexpected, undiagnosed anaphylactic reaction. 

    The District has specific procedures regarding the maintenance, administration, and disposal of epinephrine autoinjectors. The District works to provide sterile autoinjectors that are maintained in the campus nurse clinic, checked periodically, and disposed of properly after use. Staff are appropriately trained as to the right circumstances in which to administer an epinephrine autojector, vial/syringe, and Benadryl in the event of an anaphylactic reaction. To view more information regarding the District’s procedures, please see the Food Allergy Management Plan. 

Anaphylaxis - Severe Allergic Reactions

  • Anaphylaxis is a sudden, life threatening, severe allergic reaction. The most dangerous symptoms include breathing difficulties, a drop in blood pressure or shock.

    Common examples of potentially life threatening allergies are those to foods or stinging insects. Other allergic reactions may also occur to medications, latex or while exercising.

    The emergency treatment is epinephrine, which is usually supplied in epinephrine auto-injectors (example: EpiPen® and EpiPen Jr® or Auvi-Q®).

Food Allergies

  • S.B. 27 from the 82nd Texas legislative session requires school districts to adopt board policy addressing health and safety protocols for students with severe food allergies. HCISD Food Allergy Management Plan

    Hays CISD requests that students with severe food allergies provide an Allergy Action Plan that has the components of the legal requirements included within it. Please contact your school nurse before enrollment or at the start of the new school year, to obtain all the proper paper work needed that will help ensure the safety of your student with an allergy.

    PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NURSE MUST HAVE THE PRESCRIPTION LABEL. Most often it is easiest to bring the prescription box to school with the medication. If you do not have a prescription label take the medication to your pharmacy as they can usually reprint a label for school.

Self-Carry Considerations

  • Students may be allowed to self-carry certain medications while on school campus or at a campus related event such as anaphylaxis, diabetes, and asthma medications. The student must demonstrate to the student's physician or other licensed health care provider and the school nurse, the skill level necessary to self-administer the prescription medication, including the use of any device required to administer the medication. 

    A student with asthma, anaphylaxis, or diabetes may possess and self-administer prescription medicine while on school property or at a school-related event or activity if the following conditions are met:

    1. the prescription medicine has been prescribed for that student as indicated by the prescription label on the medicine;
    2. the student has demonstrated to the student's physician or other licensed health care provider and the school nurse, the skill level necessary to self-administer the prescription medication, including the use of any device required to administer the medication;
    3. the self-administration is done in compliance with the prescription or written instructions from the student's physician or other licensed health care provider; and
    4. a parent of the student provides to the school a written authorization, signed by the parent and licensed health care provider on the Medication Authorization Form, stating
      • that the student has asthma or anaphylaxis and is capable of self-administering the prescription medicine;
      • the name and purpose of the medicine;
      • the prescribed dosage for the medicine;
      • the times at which or circumstances under which the medicine may be administered; and
      • the period for which the medicine is prescribed.
    5. The physician's statement must be kept on file in the office of the school nurse of the school the student attends.

    Please note that a student requiring medication for sports must also register the medication with the school nurse.