The plot thickens

Oh, it gets even better....The school required my kid to go to a class that he was not supposed to be in! Additionally, when he went to school yesterday and was in the library, the librarians told him he had to work on the Home & Careers project. He told them his parents were contacting the school becasue they did not want him to do it. Rather than just leave it alone, they forced him to do the project. After about 5 minutes, he walked himself to the principal's office and explained the dilemma. Anyway...here is the lastest development with the school trying to kill my kid:

[principal]-

It came to my attention last night that [student's name] was told the he needed to go to the Home and Careers room on Tuesday at the beginning of class to pick up his assignment. I guess I fail to understand the disconnect that is occurring with this class. This recent development presents two issues:

1. By requiring [student's name] to report to a class that he is unable to participate, it draws attention to the fact that he is not participating in class. It singles him out, it makes him different and does so in front of all his peers. It would be akin to having a paralyzed student report to the gym in front of the other students to pick up a alternative assignment.
2. During our group meeting in In June 2008, we discussed the reasons why [student's name] was NOT to be in the Home and Careers room. It was agreed the school would be unable to keep this room allergen-reduced, and the risk of exposure too great. This was reiterated as recently as 2 weeks ago when [teacher's name] asked if [student's name] could be in that room and participate in a muffin baking demonstration. She was told "no". By requiring him to report to class in the Home and Careers room, the school has increased the likelihood of him having a reaction from cross-contamination. The school is not adhering to the established plan and instead, putting him in a position of increased exposure.

There have been too many incidents with this class, and I am not pleased with how things are being handled.

-[parent]

Battle Gear on!

This is my response:

[principal],

It is my understanding [student's name] Home & Careers alternative project was discussed and with you prior to being assigned. [Student's name] came home yesterday with the assignment which I have read several times over. Not only am I disappointed with the subject matter, I am offended and think it is highly inappropriate.

Such as assignment only emphasizes how he is different from others and focuses on his medical condition. [Student's name] is unable to participate in the cooking portion of the class due to food allergies, a medical condition. Since he cannot participate physically in that classroom setting, the school’s alternative assignment is for him to differentiate himself further from the other students? If a student were paralyzed in a car accident, would the physical education teacher make that student complete an assignment about the challenges of being paralyzed as an alternative to gym class? This would seem cruel.

[Student's name] disability prevents him from class participation, but the school still has a duty to provide equal educational benefits. While the class is busy cooking, [student's name] has been told to create informational resources on “helping others understand dietary restrictions”. As his class learns more about food preparation and cooking techniques, [student's name] is not bring provided similar instruction and instead is placed in a position of being the educator rather the student.

A §504 plan is about providing accommodations that will compensate for a student’s disability so that they have an equal chance to compete in class. The failure to expose §504 students to the required curriculum hardly gives them an equal access to education.

The wording of the assignment divulges a level of unawareness and could even be construed as bias towards non-disabled students by inferring that necessary accommodations are viewed as unreasonable to others. In particular, I am referring to the first paragraph which reads:

“Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or health concerns, many people face some type of dietary restrictions and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.”

As background, “lifestyle choices” are far different from food allergies. If someone chooses to be a vegan, they will not die from exposure to foods they choose not to eat. A severe food allergy is a serious medical condition that qualifies [student's name] as having a disability. If one substitutes [student's name] disability with a more common disability, perhaps one can see how inflammatory this sentence would appear to a person affected by such a disability.

Substitution 1: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or paralysis, many people face some type of mobility restrictions and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Substitution 2: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or autism, many people face some type of cognitive disorders and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Substitution 3: Whether it’s a result of lifestyle choices or blindness, many people face some type of vision impairment and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus lean how to manage, they many seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Specifically, the word “unreasonable” is impertinent and instead seems to reveal opinions and preconceived notions about the accommodation of children with disabilities in the school setting. If this were a social studies assignment on segregation and Brown vs. Brown, would the class assignment contain similar language… that accommodating black children in the white schools may seem “unreasonable” to some?

We initially met with the school and staff regarding this specific class in June 2008. The school had approximately 9 months to prepare or design an alternative curriculum for the cooking portion of the Home & Careers class. I am disappointed school staff contacted me 2-3 days before the commencement of this portion of the class and informed me that they still had not “come up with an assignment for [student's name] to do”. I cannot in good conscious have [student's name] perform or complete this assignment, which I believe only serves to draw attention to how he is different from other students and does not provide him equal educational benefits.

-[parent]

Bias

This is the "alternative" poroject my child was assigned instead of being able to participate in the cooking portion of Home & Careers (A NYS mandated course):

Helping Others Understand Dietary Restrictions

Whether it's a result of lifestyle choices or health concerns, many people face some type of dietary restrictions, and while the people who face them deal with them every day and thus learn how to manage, they may seem overwhelming or unreasonable to others.

Your assignment is to create two informational sources that can be shared with others to help them understand, appreciate and respect the needs of your dietary restrictions. One source should be designed for your peers - people your own age (friends, classmates, group members, etc.). The second should be designed for people in the restaurant industry, including cooks, wait staff, managers, etc.

Your final products will be hi the medium(s) of your choice. They could be posters, brochures, pamphlets, Power Point presentations, videos, booklets, etc.

Each product must:

• Capture the attention of the desired audience (be interesting!)
• Keep the attention of the desired audience (don't be too lengthy)
• Be user-friendly (remember this is intended for people who aren't used to dealing with these issues, so we want to make it easy for them to understand and follow)
• Explain the problem and dietary changes needed to meet your needs
• Explain the seriousness of the consequences if proper food preparations aren't followed(For example, if they just scrape an allergen-containing topping off the food instead of preparing the food without the topping)

Famous People with Food Allergies

1. Serena Williams, Tennis player: allergic to peanuts
2. Ray Romano, Actor: iolently allergic to peanuts
3. Alex Kapranos, Rocker from band “Franz Ferdinand: fatal allergy to peanuts
4. Robert Kennedy Jr.'s son Conor: nut allergy
5. Katie Couric’s Nephew - severe peanut allergy
6. Clay Aiken, American Idol contestant and second place winner: allergic to coffee, chocolate, shellfish, tree nuts, mushrooms, and mints
7. Heather Locklear's daughter Ava: peanut allergy
8. Steve Martin, Actor: shellfish allergy
9. Trace Adkins' daughter: Allergic to peanuts, milk, eggs and more
10. Britney Spears' son Jayden - peanut allergy