The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against the Warrick County School Corporation, accusing the district of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit is on behalf of Mycal Ashby who argues she was excluded from attending her child’s Christmas program two years in a row because the venue did not accommodate her wheelchair. Ashby’s son was a choir member at Loge Elementary School in Boonville. For the past two years, the school held a holiday program at the Warrick County Museum, which is not wheelchair accessible.
After being denied access to her son's Christmas program during the 2014-15 school year, Ashby says she and her husband contacted school officials about the program being held at the same location during the 2015-16 academic year. She claims she was assured the museum had been made wheelchair accessible, but found out accommodations had not been made to open the venue to people with disabilities.
"Having been disabled my entire life, my son and I have become very close. He's always been my little soldier and my little helper, and we were very excited to attend the concert," Ashby said in a news release from the ACLU. "So when we discovered that the venue would not accommodate my wheelchair, even though we'd been told otherwise, we both broke out in tears."When reached by phone, Warrick County Schools Superintendent Brad Schneider told WKU Public Radio that the lawsuit is based on inaccurate information.
"The events were not school-related and were put on by the museum," said Schneider. "All Warrick County schools are ADA compliant and the district would never discriminate against anyone."
The lawsuit was filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
