Parents protest treatment of students at Maryland Cracker Barrel

Family members and protesters will gather Sunday afternoon at a Cracker Barrel in Maryland, where a group of special education students earlier this month received service that the restaurant later described as “unacceptable.”

The protest was organized by Dustin Reed, the father of 7-year-old Madelynn. She was one of 11 students with special needs who were turned away from dining service at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland, during a field trip on Dec. 3, parents and school officials say. The protest is scheduled to take place at the restaurant on Sunday, December 15th from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST.

More than 200 users expressed their interest on Facebook to take part in the protest, and countless users expressed their support for the affected students, parents and teachers. Users claiming to be somewhere between Chicago and Brazil left a comment about the event.

“It’s helpful to see that other people support this and want to be a part of it,” Reed told USA TODAY on Wednesday. “But it’s sad at the same time because when you read and hear all these people’s stories and hear what’s really going on and a lot of it, it’s not talked about because there’s not enough media coverage or not enough people are willing to . “want to stand up for everyone who needs a voice.”

Elise Horne, co-founder of the Charles County Autism & Developmental Disabilities Parent Support Group, told USA TODAY on Thursday that she planned to attend Sunday’s demonstration. Horne has a 9-year-old son with nonverbal autism who also attends the Charles County Public Schools District. Although he did not attend the Cracker Barrel field trip, he also regularly participates in community class trips.

“It is very important to me that the organizations in my community understand and get the message that it is not OK to discriminate against my son’s community,” Horne said. “I really want to go so I can help convey that message and I feel like there is a lot of strength and the more of us that come, the louder our voices will be. I stand in solidarity with these parents because it could have been my son.”

What happened?

Last Tuesday, a group of 11 students and seven staff members from the Charles County Public Schools District visited the Waldorf Cracker Barrel. The trip was part of community-based instruction that allows students in special education programs to practice practical skills and socialize in public.

Katie Schneider, a special education teacher for the Charles County Public Schools District, notified parents via email that the group had been denied classes. Schneider said the group was told the restaurant couldn’t accommodate them and they were asked to remove the location from an approved list of restaurants for such excursions.

The restaurant allowed students and staff to place a takeout order, Schneider said in her email. After waiting about an hour for take-out meals, students went outside to the school bus to wait and eventually ate their lunch back at the elementary school, Schneider said.

The students attend the Dr. James Craik Elementary School and participate in the district’s ACHIEVE program for students with “significant cognitive disabilities” and the SOAR program for students with autism.

Following last week’s events, three Waldorf Cracker Barrel employees were laid off, according to a Cracker Barrel statement shared with USA TODAY. An internal investigation with guest and employee surveys was also initiated.

“We are committed to creating a welcoming environment and a great experience for guests of all abilities, and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of discrimination,” the statement said. “We did not deny service to this group of students, but operational disruptions due to staff shortages and poor communication from us resulted in us falling well short of our service standards on the day. This is unacceptable.”

Greta Cross is a national trends reporter for USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Parents protest treatment of students at Maryland Cracker Barrel