A group of students with disabilities attended a Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland and were turned away, according to school officials, sparking community outrage and a planned protest.
Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Superintendent Maria V. Navarro wrote in a Dec. 5 statement that 11 students with disabilities and seven staff members visited the restaurant on Dec. 3. The field trip was part of a community-based instructional program designed to sharpen life skills, including interacting with others in public spaces such as stores and restaurants.
Navarro wrote that prior to the visit, staff informed the Cracker Barrel location of the group’s plans, including staffing levels and the purpose of the visit. According to CCPS, they were told reservations were not necessary.
“Upon arrival, the students and staff were denied service and asked to remove the restaurant from the CBI list,” Navarro wrote, adding that the group was able to place a takeout order.
Stacey Campbell, a parent of one of the students involved, shared an email from a CCPS employee in a Facebook post, providing more details.
“While I waited, I asked to speak to the manager on duty and the general manager,” reads part of the letter, which explains that the group sat in a private area in the back of the restaurant while their takeout order was filled. .
The CCPS employee said staff were “blatantly rude” and “ignored” all students. Once they spoke to a general manager, they were told the eatery “is not suitable for this type of group.”
Navarro said that after the incident, staff spoke with a Cracker Barrel district manager who wanted to “obtain more information and express concerns” about the treatment of students at the establishment. She added that the manager said they were willing to work with CCPS “to do better.”
“The alleged treatment of CCPS students and staff at Cracker Barrel is one that no one should have to experience,” Navarro wrote, adding that other retailers and restaurants have reached out to offer their locations for future CCPS student field trips.
“We look forward to hearing from Cracker Barrel,” Navarro ends the letter.
“It broke my heart,” said Dustin Reed, a CCPS parent who spoke to NBC affiliate WRC-TV on Dec. 6 in Washington. Reed added that he and Johnna Penrod have been comforting their 7-year-old daughter, who is nonverbal. , since the incident.
“I got pushed to the side and just didn’t even pay attention,” Reed said. “All they wanted to do in there was eat something, enjoy their time there and learn from it.”
“Just because they have different capabilities than us doesn’t mean they are less than us,” Penrod told WRC-TV. “They deserve to be treated like human beings, they deserve to be loved, they deserve to be cared for. They deserve to get morale.”
Cracker Barrel apologized for disappointing the students.
“Our missteps last week were unfortunate, but had nothing to do with the abilities of the students,” a Cracker Barrel representative tells TODAY.com, adding that the refusal to serve the group of 18 was due to staffing issues and a partially enclosed second dining room. .
“Our failure to follow certain operational protocols, combined with poor communication on our part, subsequently led to misunderstandings and misconceptions,” the representative continued. They said they are working with the community to learn and do better, but did not specify how.
Reed, on the other hand, tells TODAY.com that he believes “children’s civil rights” were “blatantly disregarded and disregarded.”
Pernod says their daughter enjoyed outings at many other locations, including fast food restaurants, and that the group visited a dollar store that day before Cracker Barrel without incident.
“There’s nothing that a district manager or anyone in their HR department is going to say to fix this. The damage has been done,” Pernod told TODAY.com. “This isn’t ‘Oh, I stepped on your toe in the movie theater, my apologies.’ In my opinion, this is not something that you can just sweep under the rug with a ‘sorry’.”
Reed is planning a protest at the Cracker Barrel location where the incident occurred on December 15, and as of this writing 75 people say they are interested in attending.
The discussion board about the event, as well as other posts from Reed, are filled with supportive comments, outrage and promises to never visit Cracker Barrel again.
“This group of students and faculty were, are and always will be welcome to dine with us,” the Cracker Barrel representative told TODAY.com. “We will put things right and we look forward to regaining their trust.”
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
