Keysha Powell is the mother of a 7-year-old girl with asthma and food allergies who depends on her inhaler and epinephrine auto-injector but is too young to self-administer, according to her lawyers.
According to the complaint, staff overseeing after-school and summer programs are not trained to administer her meds.
Mayor Muriel E Bowser announced new funding for these out-of-school programs in September, stating they:
enhance social and emotional well-being and provide a safe and stimulating environment where our students can discover their passions, build new skills, and stay excited about learning every day.
Powell claims her family has been shut out of these opportunities because of her daughter’s disabilities.
A spokesperson for DC Public Schools declined to comment, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Chelsea Sullivan, associate counsel at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, representing Powell along with co-counsel, said:
Asthma and allergies are very common disabilities, and a 7-year-old child should not have to worry if she will receive her medication in a time of distress or lose time with her peers.
Powell says she was “shocked” to learn that no one is available to assist in an emergency once the school nurse leaves for the day.
According to Powell, the first incident occurred in May 2023 at Miner Elementary School when her daughter was given tuna fish, causing a reaction. Her eyes reddened, and she became fatigued, but the staff who ran the after-school program did not call Powell or the school nurse to administer her epinephrine.
The suit claims Powell contacted the school’s staff and filed a complaint with DC Public Schools and a grievance with the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights. Following an investigation into the incident, the district’s report indicated the after-school staff were not trained to administer the daughter’s medicine.
The problems continued anyway, said Powell.
This March, her daughter suffered an asthma attack after school hours, but Powell only found out when the girl was having trouble breathing at pick-up. The suit claims no one administered her daughter’s inhaler.
According to the complaint, Powell then started putting her inhaler in her daughter’s backpack, “so it was easily accessible to her daughter and afterschool staff in case of an emergency.” But when staff found the device, they confiscated it.
With no other options, Powell said she had to leave her job as a school food service worker early before another emergency could happen. She said:
I’m a single mom and I depend on my income for my children. But also I have to think about my daughter’s health.
The suit claims similar incidents happened at another school the girl attended. An outside organization was brought in this school year to run after-school programs, but the staff is similarly untrained.
Matthew J Rizzolo, co-counsel at Ropes & Gray LLP, said:
There may be some systemic issues at play. Sometimes litigation is needed to effect change.
