We have been called in to meet with the principal because the cheerleading sponsor wants to remove my daughter from the team. (Daughter is 13 dx at age 7, on an omnipod) The coach says she didn't have her supplies. What actually happened is that she used her supplies earlier in the day and needed to get some juice out of the "emergency bag" which the coach didn't even have at practice.
Does anyone have experience with this? Does kicking her out of cheer constitute discrimination?
Thanks all
I don't know if it is the legal definition of discrimination, but I would ask, why don't you give your daughter her own juice to keep in her bag that she takes to practice? For sports, I always had a separate supply in my son's hockey bag. The rest of the supply was in his school backpack or in the classroom. Even if the other stuff got used, he knew he had the supplies needed in his hockey bag. It sounds like the coach doesn't think an "emergency bag" is important enough to bring to a practice so your daughter should be responsible for her own supplies. Good luck. I hope they don't boot her from the team.
That's garbage. Removal from the team because of one mishap? The coach is scared of having a diabetic on the team, probably because she doesn't know what to do in an emergency, and is looking for an excuse to not have to deal with it.
I agree with Joey, your daughter should have supplies in every bag she uses -- practice, school, purse, etc. I have Smarties and juice boxes strategically located everywnere my son goes, at the school, on the bus, in the daycare, in my purse, etc. But I assume this is a public school, yes? That being the case, the school is MANDATED to accommodate her by the Americans with Disabilities act. Do you have a 504 plan in place? If not, I would strongly suggest visiting the ADA's web page on 504 Plans to learn how to set one up — and the coach and the school nurse, as well as all teachers, must be included. Basically, anyone at the school who supervises your daughter must participate, and I say MUST because it is mandated by law that the schools accommodate her needs, and that includes extracurricular activities as well as academics. The law was written with the goal of ensuring that students with disabilities, and diabetes IS considered a disability under this law, can have access to all the perks students without disabilities have, within reason. But even if you DO have a 504 plan, it's clear that not everyone who needs to participate in it (meaning, the coach/athletics staff) has been brought into the loop, so you should call a meeting with the school administration to correct this omission. Part of the 504 Plan should be focused on how the school will accommodate her needs in athletics, and that DOES mean that the coach is to keep an emergency supply of juice/glucose tabs at all times. Coach has to keep a first aid kit anyway in case of injury, right? So, a glucagon shot and juice boxes can be added to that. It's really not that complicated, but it sounds as though the coach is scared to take responsibility for a diabetic child... and there's no need for that fear, so long as the coach knows what she needs to do and what supplies are required.
I would take this as an opportunity to educate and reassure the coach. Don't be confrontational. Be compassionate. Everyone who confronts this disease is scared of it at first, but if you can convince this coach to set aside her fears and put your daughter's needs as a person, rather than as a child with diabetes, ahead of her own need to be "safe", perhaps this can be resolved to the betterment of all involved.
Excuse my language, but this is ■■■■■■■■, plain and simple! I check my daughter's "diabetes purse" daily to make sure it is restocked with stuff to treat her lows, but on a few occasions, she's run out for no particularly good reason. Maybe she had a lot of lows that day, maybe she ate all of her Skittles or Starburst because she felt like eating candy that day. Whatever! No one, including you and your daughter, is perfect! And it is simply outrageous that her coach wants to kick her off the team because she didn't have juice with her one freaking time! I'd talk to the coach, the principal, the school board, anyone and everyone. If there is not a fair resolution of this issue, I'd be consulting the ADA and an attorney. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.
Im not sure where you're from, but Im from Ontario, Canada and this would be considered a Human Rights issue. She is being discriminated against because of a medical condition. If they followed through with removing her from the team based on that I would take it above the principal, and if that didnt resolve it I would definitely make a complaint with the human rights tribunal. Its just ignorance. I am really not looking forward to the amount of fights and explaining i'm going to have to do in the upcoming years.