HB1195 – “Elijah’s Law” — legislation named for Elijah Silvera — was passed by both chambers of the Maryland legislature and is expected to be signed into law tomorrow by Governor Wes Moore.
The law will:
- require the State Department of Education and Maryland Department of Health to develop guidelines to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic major food allergens in child care settings;
- require the State Department of Education to create a model policy;
- require large family child care homes and child care centers to adopt a policy to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic major food allergens;
- provide child care providers and employees immunity from civil liability under certain circumstances for actions related to responding to a child’s anaphylactic reaction.
Elijah was three-years-old on November 3, 2017, when he was attending daycare in Harlem. Despite knowledge of his severe milk allergy, a daycare worker gave him a grilled cheese sandwich which triggered a severe reaction.
Elijah was left in throes of anaphylaxis while school administrators called his mother and waited for her to pick him up. She then had to carry the child 10 blocks to the nearest hospital because the school had not called emergency services.
By the time he arrived at the pediatric ER of Harlem Hospital, it was too late to save him.
Elijah’s parents, Thomas Silvera and Dina Hawthorne-Silvera, founded the Elijah-Alavi Foundation whose work spearheaded the passage of “Elijah’s Law” in their home state of New York in 2019. The law mandates early education programs in New York must follow state food allergy guidelines and protocols to prevent, recognize and respond quickly to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. The Silveras have since expanded their efforts to bring Elijah’s Law to states nationwide.
We congratulate Thomas and Dina on their continued efforts and success in safeguarding young children with food allergies across the nation as well as Kids with Food Allergies, Food Allergy Research and Education, and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
