K.C. school punishes blind boy by replacing cane with pool noodle
A Kansas City school punished a boy who was misusing his cane by taking it away, and replacing with a swimming pool noodle. The American Council of the Blind says such punishment is wrong.
Fox4KC.com
The decision to punish a blind child by replacing his mobility cane with a swimming pool noodle is an 鈥渆xtra nasty step,鈥� says a director at the聽.
, age eight, is a student at聽and relies on his white mobility cane for personal freedom and the ability to move freely about his environment, according to聽.
North Kansas City Schools聽spokeswoman Michelle Cronk told the media聽that Dakota hit somebody with his cane while riding the bus and his punishment was to have his cane taken away and replaced with a foam pool noodle.
Ms. Cronk also reportedly said that Dakota was given the pool noodle not as a replacement for a mobility device, but rather because he needed something to hold in order to avoid fidgeting. The school also reportedly said that it owned the cane and gave it to the boy at the beginning of the school year.
In a statement released by Cronk Wednesday afternoon, the district reversed its earlier decision.
The District has reviewed the situation. We regret that a mistake was made in making sure the student was in possession of his cane when he boarded the bus聽Monday聽evening.
The District has apologized to the family and is working to rectify the situation. When we were made aware of the mistake, corrections were made. It is always the District鈥檚 policy when we become aware of situations like this, we thoroughly and immediately investigate to ensure a safe learning environment for all students.
聽In a phone call Cronk, says: 鈥淲e鈥檝e been taking a lot of heat from the local community over this.鈥�
Eric Bridges, director of external relations and policy for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) says in a phone interview from his office in Arlington, Va., 聽that the act of taking a blind child鈥檚 cane from him as a form of punishment was 鈥渁bsolutely wrong and something which impedes the child鈥檚 mobility.鈥�
鈥淭o do what this school did to this student is just beyond the pale,鈥� says Mr. Bridges, who is blind himself. 鈥淚f you want to punish a blind child then punish him the same way you punish a sighted child 鈥� detention, suspension, sitting on a bench in the hallway. What this school did was just an extra nasty step of demeaning the child, humiliating him and robbing him of his mobility.鈥�
Bridges adds that even if the school supplied a guide to constantly be by the boy鈥檚 side, the addition of the pool noodle adds a dimension of humiliation that is unacceptable.
鈥淭here鈥檚 already enough stigma that comes with the white cane,鈥� Bridges added. 鈥淎 pool noodle? Because he fidgets? I honestly don鈥檛 know which is worse, taking his freedom of mobility or the total public humiliation.鈥�
Dakota鈥檚 father, Donald Nafzinger told the media that his son lifts his cane sometimes and the bus driver thought he was using it violently.
鈥淎ll around, he鈥檚 a good little guy, and he shouldn鈥檛 be treated the way he鈥檚 being treated,鈥� Mr. Nafzinger said.
Bridges adds,聽鈥淚t鈥檚 honestly very hard for me to get my mind around what it would take for an educated adult to come up with that punishment,鈥� Bridges says in exasperation. 鈥淚t鈥檚 almost as if another eight-year-old thought that one up.鈥�