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

I am sending this again and in 2 parts. I now it is rather long but I feel all the comments made are valuable to anyone dealing with the public schools.I am sorry for any inconvenience.
 
Here are the results of the survey.There were a total of 67 responses. 

   10 (a) had never heard of 504

  28 (b) heard of 504 but didn't have a 504 - Out of these:
             15 had casual or verbal arrangements with the school
               3 said they didn't trust the school to be able to provide GF food
               6 had children who weren't in school yet
               4 had no special arrangements

        12 (c) have 504 Plans. Of those, 3 already had them for other 
disabilities prior to   
            Celiac diagnosis.

   7 (d) had an IEP (Individual Education Plan) which is for special ed 
   
   2 Homeschool

   6 were requests for information 
   1 was information (Carol Roberts)
   
   In  1  case the school offered 504 but they (family) didn't get one

I have included some excerpts from some responses.it is quite long but I am including it since many people asked for a summary. I also has 2 people who offered to help any one with questions. you can email me for their names if you like:

1. This entry from St. John'e list serve August 2002 basically tells how to go about setting up a 504 plan in your school:
"To all those parents who have children in public schools in the USA
There is a federal law which makes it mandatory for school systems to meet
the needs of children who have special health problems. They do not have to
have any learning difficulties.
I would certainly support any and all cooperative interactions with the 
child's teacher.
The official route would be to send a polite request to the Superintendent of 
Schools with a copy to
the School Principal, the School Nurse, and the Director of Special Needs. A
meeting should be held which would plan accommodations for your child. You
would need to have an official letter from a physician documenting the
diagnosis. A letter from a dietitian describing how to meet the needs would
be helpful.
At the planning meeting the School Food Director should be present. You
might request that a dietitian be available to consult with food staff,
which the school should pay for. The child's teacher should be present and
it might be helpful to have someone like a school psychologist or school
counselor to be present so that she may understand and help with any social
issues. The meeting should generate an Individual Health Plan. While formats
or terms might differ by state, the basic law is federal.By all means be polite and informal, but know your child's rights. This is a
civil rights issue."

2. "We did not know the name of a plan, but have worked with the food
service director to modify the menu for our son.
We met with the food service director and went over dietary restrictions.
Then we went over the line items of the menus and made reasonable changes.
The school system is purchasing substitute items for the gf items on the
menu.  Some items we will bring in ourselves, like brownies and French toast
sticks.
We gave the food service people a laminated picture of
our son so that it could be placed on his tray. On the back of the picture
is his name and dietary restrictions.  That way if his regular serving
person was not there, any one would know to match up the picture with the
child.  And he know to ask for the tray with his picture on it.  We are in
steady contact with the food service director and server and are as helpful
as can be to make this a positive experience for our son and school
personnel.  We did notify his teacher and school nurse when we started
school lunch so that everyone would be aware in case there was a problem.
To date we have been very successful."

3."has a 504 plan. teacher or room parent calls to discuss what is going on so I can make
food accommodations for children.  In addition, gave school cupcakes which
are kept in freezer for usage.  Also, school buys gluten free pizza crust
to prepare pizza on school pizza days, so children can buy. Also, I have
gone into school to review vending machines to see what they can eat."

4. "yes, my child has a 504 Plan
School has been very supportive as have the other parents. At the
beginning of the school year, I send nurse and teachers a letter describing
condition and how they can help.
My child receives a specially prepared, wrapped and served tray for school lunch each day at the same price as any other student's meal.  He also has GF lunches prepared for his field trips at the same price as any other childs meal.  The District policy provides this in pursuant to section 504.  Once the request was made they immediately began working on a nutritionally sound GF diet and how to assure that there would be no cross contamination. There have been other children ( since my son began his meals) that have also received benefits from the GF meals.  They have also made sure that his teachers are aware of snack and treat issues and that an accidental ingestion could have far reaching consequences. All of his teachers have become very aware of the disease and the possible signs they should watch for concerning his health and ability to learn.  
 Our District and my son's individual schools (elementary and now middle school) have been very cooperative in providing him with gluten free meals in the cafeteria and for field trips.  His school nurses, guidance counselors and teachers have always been extremely kind, caring and concerned that his diet is being followed and in addressing any health issues that have educational repercussions.  Biopsies (done for other medical reasons...but checked for diet compliance while there) showed extreme compliance with the diet.  This is to say that we are very satisfied with our schools assistance in dealing with our son's health issues."

5."The dietitian at our pediatric gastroenterologist's office informed us that "by law" our son's elementary school cafeteria (in San Antonio, Texas) HAD TO accommodate his gluten-free diet.  The school cafeteria manager was not familiar with either celiac disease nor the ingredients in all the foods served by the cafeteria so I went to the dietitian for the school district (serving 70,000 students).  She said I was the first and only parent to contact her regarding celiac disease.  (This surprised me because statistically there should be many more kids with this diagnosis but maybe they're eating food from home or.....)  The extent of her assistance was to allow ME to research the ingredients in every recipe and food item the school served and to allow ME to come up with a list of gluten free items that the school district already uses and stocks that my son could eat.  She also arranged for my son to receive a "special tray" with the gluten-free foods on the days that only gluten entrees were being served.  So far, the cafeteria manager has been diligent in adhering to the menu I prepare each month.  Bottom line:  the school accommodated my son's dietary needs but I had to do all the legwork and follow-up (which is OK I guess since I would've done that anyway to make sure they were doing it right....it is my kid after all....)"

* Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the CEL-KIDS List *