Langley mom says school was going to exclude her daughter from field trip
Posted June 20, 2023 10:01 pm.
A Langley mom says her daughter’s school was going to exclude her from a field trip because of her special needs. Although the school changed its tune two days before the trip, Leah Burrell says she’s upset with how things were handled.
“I don’t want other parents to have to go through this. It’s horrible. Nobody should have to go through the feelings we’ve had this weekend.”
Burrell says her daughter Sophia — who has special needs — is still upset after her school told her family last Friday she couldn’t go on a class field trip to Cultus Lake Waterpark this Thursday.
Burrell says the school told her it was for “safety reasons” – something she says she doesn’t understand because Sophia is a great swimmer, and went on a class field trip a few weeks ago.
On Tuesday, the school changed its decision, just two days before the trip.
“The district and school staff have been working for the last few days and have developed a plan that includes accommodations as well as providing additional staff to go on this field trip to ensure that all students on this trip will have all their needs met,” said Joanne Abshire on behalf of the Langley School District.
Burrell says the school didn’t apologize to Sophia, who felt excluded by the school’s initial decision — and she says she’s frustrated that they didn’t ask the sixth grader if she’d feel comfortable going on the trip.
“They all go to the water slides – they’ve known it for seven years in theory because she’s been going to this school for seven years. It should have been planned months, years ago.”
CityNews reached out to B.C.’s minister of education for a comment, who said in part, “We know there are children who continue to face barriers, and we are working to change that together with school districts and advocacy groups to build more inclusive schools and classrooms.”
Burrell says she hasn’t told Sophia about the school’s change of heart — adding the incident has left her questioning whether her daughter is truly welcome at her school.
“The damage has been done. They can’t take back the way they made us feel, and that’s a really horrible way to make anyone feel, that they’re not included and they’re not important enough to consider,” she said.
