Rider University settles with feds over celiac disease complaint, will change dining
LAWRENCE >> Eat that.
Rider University has agreed to revamp camping dining operations and offer more options for students with celiac diesea after the feds accused the school of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Neward announced Thursday it reached a settlement with the school.
The feds investigated when a student with celiac disease complained the university wasn’t sensitive to food allergies. And it determined the university “failed to provide reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, and procedures for students with food allergy-related disabilities and failed to adequately train its staff on appropriate policies for accommodating individuals with food allergies.”
Rider, with about 8,100 students with campuses in Lawrence and Princeton,. cooperated with the investigation and struck a deal with the feds to overhaul dining practices without admitting it violated the ADA.
“We commend Rider University on working to ensure that its students with severe food allergies have options that meet their needs,” U.S. attorney Craig Carpenito said in a statement. “This agreement will improve the experience of students with food allergyrelated disabilities and help them to focus on getting an education.”
A university spokeswoman said the school is “committed to ensuring the dietary needs of our students with disabilities” and has taken steps to “ensure students with disabilities can equally access safe dining options.”
The school opened a food prep station that excluded peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, eggs, wheat and soy, the spokeswoman said, and will “continue to explore ways to provide the healthiest and safest food options for all Rider University students.”
The settlement outlines that the university must provide “reasonable accomodations” for students with food allergies. That includes exempting “qualified” students with from having to participate in a mandatory campus meal plan, according to the settlement.
The university must also hire a full-time dietician to help the university with food-allergy issues that may arise, allergen-free food preparation areas in dining facilties, allow students with food allergies to pre-order meals, provide information online to students with food allergies, post food allergy notices around campus and re-train staff on food prep and other policies.
The agreement remains in place for three years, and allows the feds to drop in on campus any time to ensure the university is keeping up its end of the bargain on the agreement.