What Elizabeth said, basically.
I'd ask "why not" to the provision that a parent CAN accompany your child. There may well be field trip locations that you're simply not comfortable otherwise. The details really matter, unfortunately. Anywhere that I
know or strongly suspect that an allergen is present, I wanted 1:1 adult supervision with my child, and anywhere remote/crowded/chaotic, I was also going to want to attend WITH her, just because those are situations that make recognition, treatment, and obtaining emergency medical assistance
far more challenging. They also make retreat from a dangerous situation more difficult-- that's my #1 reason for wanting to go on field trips, actually. I spot risks that other adults do not, and I'm
way better at "PREVENTION" than they are.
I'd push back on it, truthfully. It's probably not okay for them to REQUIRE you to attend, but if you
want to on a case-by-case basis, frankly, they ought to WELCOME you. They're fools not to-- I'd interpret the fact that they think this is necessary for diabetes management and
not for anaphylaxis as an indication that they are not completely convinced of what they're trying to manage. That's just me, though-- they don't seem properly intimidated enough to really have full comprehension. Two words for them. Nathan Walters.
What if your child SHOULD require medical treatment during a field trip, as well-- what does your 504 plan say about that? Who accompanies your child-- and what happens to the other kids in his group? See the problem there?
So where is your child's epipen
ordinarily? If it isn't in the classroom in the teacher's care USUALLY, then the field trip adds a second dimension of "unusual/break from routine" to things. It doesn't for you as a parent, since you're used to carting them around with you, and unlikely to set them down, forget them, etc.
Might be worth considering whether or not having the teacher have a "classroom set" of Epipens is a good idea on a more routine basis.
I'd also ask who is (ordinarily) supposed to determine whether or not to administer epinephrine during the school day. Get that one in writing in your 504 plan. I'm betting that the nurse is involved. Well, in that case, why would they want a less rigorous method for a field trip, eh? The reason that I suspect this is that this would be the prime reason why Suzie with T1D has her mom or dad "invited" on field trips-- my guess is that diabetes is usually "nurse-managed" because classroom teacher(s) have said "Look, I'm not a nurse, I'm a teacher!" Well, recognition of anaphylaxis is not any cake walk, either-- something that I might point out to the 504 team. Ordinarily, no problem if the classroom teacher has medically trained backup (school nurse) IN the building with them, but that isn't true on a field trip.
I mean, hey-- if they WANT to assume the greater liability after you've generously
offered to fill in for the nurse's expertise... well, you're just a parent, after all... but wow. Sure SEEMS like it'd be a lot less for the teacher to
worry about when s/he is already busy with the field trip itself, though...
(Yes, I usually get what I want.)
Oh, and Sub + field trip? That scenario is an absolute NO WAY from me unless a parent is along. The adult that is in charge of evaluation and treatment HAS to be someone that your child knows and trusts, and also has to be someone that can recognize if something is "off" about your child-- a sub is very unlikely to be that person.
