A group of special-needs students was denied service at Cracker Barrel in Maryland, with the mother of an autistic boy expressing outrage after the restaurant’s manager told them not to come back.
Stacey Campbell said her non-verbal son Jojo, 9, was refused sit-down service at the restaurant in Waldorf on Tuesday along with 10 other special-needs children.
Jojo was on the trip with his school’s community-based instruction (CBI) program, which gives special-needs children the opportunity to go on field trips and participate in educational activities.
According to an email from a teacher, the kids and the seven adults with them were denied service at the Cracker Barrel even though they called beforehand to confirm they did not need a reservation.
The email said that the decision had nothing to do with the children’s behavior and that the manager told the group not to come back for any future field trips.
‘So, if you’re telling them to take us off the list, then they’re not welcomed there. Why?’ Campbell told WJLA.
The restaurant only allowed the group to place a to-go order and made the students sit in the back of the eatery, where they waited for more than an hour, the teacher’s email said.
‘We did take the food back to the school and the students enjoyed their lunch and were so well behaved,’ it stated.
‘I am however disappointed about this experience and am still stunned that this happened in a public setting.’
The email also noted that Cracker Barrel staffers were very rude to the group.
Jojo,9, was denied service at a Cracker Barrel on a school trip with 10 other special-needs children on December 3
Jojo’s mom, Stacey Campbell, said visits like this are very helpful for her son
The Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, Maryland, attributed the students’ experience to a staffing issue
The concerned mother shared the letter on social media to bring attention to the situation, sparking hundreds of reactions.
‘I posted it for awareness. And again, it was more so for my community of moms and dads who have children who cannot speak for themselves – who can’t advocate for themselves,’ she told WJLA.
‘These types of trips are extremely beneficial to them, or for him specifically, because it allows him to be able to explore without all of the white noise and all of his senses being overloaded.’
Charles County Superintendent of Schools Maria Navarro defended her staff and the children, sharing a public statement of her own.
In the letter, she said that Cracker Barrel was told before the group arrived that the goal of the program is for children to ‘practice generalizing skills they are learning in the classroom’ before the group arrived.
‘Our students and staff are our number one priority, and we are disheartened to learn about the alleged treatment they received while participating in an activity designed to educate our students using real-world applications,’ Navarro wrote
Cracker Barrel attributed the students’ experience to a staffing issue.
The program aims to help children with special needs practice the skills they learn in the classroom in the real world
Campbell said she does not believe the excuse Cracker Barrel gave for denying the kids and the staff members service
In a statement, a representative for the business said: ‘A staffing challenge that day led to the closure of part of our second dining room, creating confusion that impacted the group’s experience.’
But Campbell and the other parents involved are still skeptical.
‘I do not buy the excuse that they’re giving,’ she told WJLA. ‘I for one, and my family, will not be spending a dime in supporting that establishment.’
The superintendent revealed that the student group has been contacted by other restaurants and businesses who are more than happy to host their group.
