Cheers for the parents filing complaints! This is 2003 public places should be fixed for everyone to enjoy, especially children. I am sure your PTO (or whoever) took careful consideration to make sure these field trips were appropriated for the children, talk about a smack in the face.
Until you get this matter straightened up, which I am sure will take a while. Why not plan a special day for those children who were left out. Like a party with bubbles, music, drinks, and treats? I think if you really stressed this event is only for them it would make them feel good instead of singled out.
I'm sorry that I wasn't very clear. The situation is pretty complicated.
This is an elementary school. There are children from Early Childhood (3 years old in special education) all the way up to 5th grade. Some of the children in 1st-5th grade are also special education children. Every child in 1st-5th grade(including the special education students) was sent home a fundraiser packet. Along with the packet was a letter explaining that all money collected from this was going to be used for a specific field trip.
Because of the size of the school, not everyone will go at the same time. 1st grade will go one day, 2nd another and so on.
This fundraiser started at the begining of the year and is ongoing through the end of the year. The trips are starting.
It has come to my attention that some of the special education children are not being allowed to attend based on their disabilities. I know that this is not only against our state board of education's policy but against federal law. The parents are filing complaints with both the state and the civil liberties over this but in the mean time, it has caused a lot of hard feelings between parents and the PTO. Why would we continue to ask their support but not allow their children to participate?!
The decission about who could not attend was not made by the PTO but by the school principle.
How can the PTO avoid this type of problem in the future?
