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]