Education · Sumter, SC
Parents Say Students With Disabilities Required to Clean Cafeteria at Lakewood High School in Sumter, SC
The parents of a student with autism at Lakewood High School in Sumter, South Carolina, say he and other students with disabilities were required to clean cafeteria tables and floors after other students finished eating. Father Jeremiah Sams says school leaders told him the activity was part of a "work study program" but that only disabled students participated, which he calls discriminatory. The Sumter School District responded in a statement describing the tasks as employability and life-skills instruction discussed at federal-required annual team meetings with parents or guardians. After the family met with school officials, the district said the work-study activity had ceased and its life-skills activities are under review.