Naperville teen gets law passed requiring students learn how to respond to life-threatening allergic reactions
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Illinois high school students will be taught how to recognize and respond to life-threatening allergic reactions starting in the 2024-25 school year because Naperville student Darby Elo went above and beyond to fulfill a social studies assignment.
The new law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker June 30 was an extension of a project Darby completed in her junior year while taking a peace and conflicts studies class at Naperville Central High School.
As part of the course, students examined recent world history and used the gained knowledge to research a contemporary social issue and develop a social activism project to help make the world a better place.
For her project, Darby said she reviewed how her school addressed allergic reactions through health protocols after noticing a lot of friends have severe allergies.
Darby thought more could be done.
She recalled learning CPR in school and said with so many students having allergies, it should be equally important to learn how to administer epinephrine auto-injectables in the event no one else was around in an emergency.
“There wasn’t really anything taught to us in a classroom environment about EpiPens or allergies especially, and I just thought it would be kind of cool to introduce that,” she said.
Elo approached her peace and conflicts teacher Seth Brady during her senior year with her idea of creating legislation to require all students in Illinois learn about the effect of allergies in their health classes. He, in turn, connected her with state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr, D-Naperville, and her chief of staff Donna Wandke, both former members of the Naperville District 203 School Board.
“I loved (Darby’s idea) for a lot of different reasons,” said Yang Rohr, who has two children with life-threatening allergies.
In the broader sense, she said, allergies are affecting more people so the more people who can recognize and respond to a severe reaction the better.
Yang Rohr and Wandke worked with Elo to draft the legislation to amend the school code so allergen safety is taught to students in grades 9-12. The bill proposed students complete a health class lessons in which they learn signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction, including anaphylaxis; the steps to take to prevent exposure to allergens; and safe emergency epinephrine administration.
“We then started getting in touch with other representatives and other districts and other senators and just really trying to pitch the idea to others who would also support the bill,” Yang Rohr said.
The bill ended up being co-sponsored by state Reps. Suzanne Ness, D-Carpentersville; Jonathan Caroll, D-Northbrook; Kevin Olickal, D-Chicago; Gregg Johnson, D-East Moline; Joyce Mason, D-Gurnee; and Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero.
Illinois Senate sponsors were Laura Ellman, D-Naperville, and Mike Simmons, D-Chicago.
The legislation passed the House in March with a 91-9 vote and the Senate 38-17 in May.
Darby learned the bill became law while working in Yang Rohr’s office as a summer intern.
“When I found out the bill was signed, I think our entire office was super excited. And it was really awesome to be able to let my teacher Mr. Brady know,” Darby said.
She’s awed by how far the bill had come and how it would be implemented in the future, she said.
Brady said his peace and conflict class teaches students how to research an issue and then take action in their own communities.
“The fact that Darby chose to go beyond the course and seek to pass legislation to ensure that all students would know how to act in the case of a profound allergic reaction is not only amazing, it illustrates the principle that we all can play a role in bringing about a more peaceful, just world,” Brady said.
Students in his classes have worked with Yang-Rohr and others to pass five bills through the Illinois General Assembly, but it’s not the only way to bring about change, he said.
“Many students have had tremendous success and effect in their schools and communities as well as in international contexts,” Brady said.
Darby plans to major in political science at Indiana University at Bloomington.
Because of her experience working on legislation and interning, she’s considering potential jobs in politics.
“I think it would be really awesome to do something similar as far as career goals go. I love the work,” Darby said.
“I think that Janet (Yang Rohr) and Donna (Wandke) are amazing role models. They’ve done a really great job showing us how they do community outreach, and I think that they’re really giving us that real world experience that I would like to pursue in my future.”
