My kid has #asthma & a severe, life-threatening dairy #allergy. We’ve been fought by @wilcoxprincipal and now @TwinsburgSupt every step of the way to get our child a section 504 plan. I want my kid alive with access to aninhaler, not dead with a law named after him. #disability
This is a story about how school district administration will fight you every step of the way when all you want them to do is comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (#ADA), #IDEA, or #Rehabilitation Act. It’s a story about intentional delay and confusion they sow.
First, the school’s principal Mrs. Villa Turner and school nurse tried to talk us out of a 504 plan. They discouraged it saying an unenforceable “health plan” would be sufficient because the staff deals with this all the time and is “trained.” More on “trained” later.
They also claimed that 504 plans were meant for disabilities that impact classroom learning. That’s utterly false, it’s for accommodating disabilities, period. Classroom or not. I knew the IHP was not as enforceable or dynamic as a 504 plan, so I insisted that we get a 504plan.
That was the start of the fight. Then we prepared some accommodations or ideas based on what our son’s needs are and the school environment. There are many collected and available online from @AAFANational, among others. Most of these were simply ignored by the principal, who
Already had a 504 plan written up and drafted prior to the meeting. Their proposed plan they tried to get us to accept had huge issues. First, it did not incorporate or require them to follow the Asthma Action Plan or Food Allergy Emergency Care Plan the physicians wrote up.
Second, it did not require them to follow their own Individualized Health Plan they wrote up. Third, it failed to@provide our child with access to his medically necessary asthma #inhaler and #EpiPen in lockdown/shelter-in-place times because
the school refused to have an inhaler in a lockbox in the classrooms. In those events (our district has already had two so far this year) the nurse’s office would be inaccessible. My son’s life-saving inhaler would be locked away elsewhere with no way to get it to him.
Now one of my son’s asthma triggers, as noted by his physician in a letter, was a emotionally stressful event. Lockdowns, especially in the worst situations, are exactly that. my child will not be a foreseeable & totally preventable casualty of administrative #incompetence.
So others can share the story if they’d like to empower other parents: (typos and all) @LegalAidCLE @AAFANational @FoodAllergy @OHEducation @usedgov @HickmanLowder @WEWS @ThePlainDealer @fox8news @cleveland19news @clevelanddotcom @AAPD @NDRNadvocates @BazelonCenter
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