The special editor calls for a protest at MD Cracker Barrel after school. Student “denial of service”

Maryland school officials are outraged after telling parents their special education student was denied service at a Cracker Barrel restaurant during an educational outing.

The outing was part of the Charles County Public School District’s community-based instructional program for students with autism and severe cognitive disabilities at Dr. James Craik Elementary School.

Although Cracker Barrel issued an apology in a statement, parents, including one who organized a protest at the location, previously told USA TODAY they “saw red” after learning of the incident.

“I don’t have the words to express how I feel — the anger, the sadness, the worry,” Dustin Reed, whose 7-year-old daughter Madelynn attended the community orientation outing, previously told USA Today. “I spent more time crying for her and praying that she would never have to go through this again.”

Here’s what we know.

Parents say Cracker Barrel is denying services to special education students

Eleven students and seven staff members in the Charles County Public School District were “denied service” at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland, on Tuesday, Superintendent Maria Navarro said in a statement.

Charles County Public Schools staff informed Waldorf Astoria Cracker Barrel of the size of the group and the purpose of the visit, Navarro said in a statement, but they were told no appointment was required.

Students in the district’s ACHIEVE and SOAR programs participate in monthly community orientation outings from November through May, allowing students to develop practical skills and socialize with the public.

Charles County Public Schools… By greta.cross.photo

The Charles County Public Schools special education teacher said the group did not eat at the restaurant because the restaurant’s general manager told the group his restaurant “cannot accommodate your group” and that the restaurant should be removed from Community Teaching’s list of approved restaurants. Katie Schneider told parents in an email.

The group placed a delivery order, but Schneider said in an email to parents that students were treated rudely by staff while waiting for their order.

“(Staff) refused to serve them and didn’t even ask our students if they wanted a drink or something. Our students were well behaved and patiently sat at the table, which you know can be hard, waiting for their food and drinks… Let’s go,” Schneider wrote.

After about an hour of waiting, Schneider said, students were moved outside to wait for the school bus and then had lunch at the elementary school.

Schneider noted in an email that the group was willing to split into separate tables and see others seated and leave within the time it took for them to receive their food.

Cracker Barrel said in a statement previously provided to USA TODAY that “staffing issues” led to the closure of the restaurant’s second location and caused “chaos” in handling the group’s request.

“At Cracker Barrel, we strive to create a welcoming environment for all our guests, and we understand that the team’s recent visit to our Waldorf Astoria hotel did not meet expectations,” Cracker Barrel said in a statement. “We take this matter seriously. “We are working directly with the organization’s leadership to better understand what happened, express our apology and correct the problem.”

Protest planned at Cracker Barrel

The protest, organized by Reed, is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 15, at the Waldorf Cracker Barrel.

As of Sunday, 45 people had responded on a protest Facebook page called #CanWeEatNow.

Reed said he hopes the protests will shed light on the fact that just because some kids have different abilities, it doesn’t mean they are worse than others.

“I always wanted to protect her from the world but without losing sight of why we do this,” Reed said.

This article originally appeared in USA Today: Cracker Barrel protests after “refuses to serve special editions.” student