Here are a couple of stories I would like to share regarding harassment of children that are in the special needs program at their Elementary School.
Keep in mind that I am only the assistant in this cafeteria. I have no control over what we serve or how we serve it. It is my job to stand at the end of the line and make sure that the children take a balanced meal, according to government standards. I also prepare food before lunch but during the lunch hour, I must stand and watch the children.
Day after day I watch The Angry Lunch Lady decide who she wants to be kind to and who she feels like yelling at. After two months I notice a pattern of her harassing one little girl. I call her the girl with the glasses.
From my first day, she was very kind. She would always thank me for her lunch and tell me it was very good. This same little girl would often get harassed as she went through the lunch line. The Angry Lunch Lady would tell her she was too slow and lecture her about it. Something like “ you do this every day”, or “what are you doing grocery shopping”, “hurry up get moving”. She was no slower or faster than most kids that go through the line, yet is always the one to get yelled at.
One day, when I was talking about our reward program, The Angry Lunch Lady, says to me, “Well you know that little girl who always thanks you for lunch? She will cut your throat if she gets the chance”. I was shocked that she said this. Is this why she is so mean to the little girl? You would think if that was true that she would be afraid to be so mean to her. Is she trying to provoke her?
We have a little blonde boy that comes through the line. He is very quiet and does not interact with me. I didn’t think much of it. Then one day, when we had a choice of garlic pizza cheese pizza or pepperoni pizza, The Angry Lunch Lady decided not to give this little boy a choice and made him take what she gave him. She did this only to him and no other child.
He stepped back, folded his arms in front of him and refused to take his tray. One of the monitors came up and asked him what was wrong. He said” She won’t let me have what I want”.
Because I feel the school monitors are also afraid of this cook, the monitor said: “You will have to take what she gives you”. She handed him his tray and he hit it from the bottom, flinging it all over the floor. He then proceeded to stomp up and down on it and make quite a scene. I asked The Angry Lunch Lady what was wrong and she shooed me away and said it was none of my business.
After lunch, I insisted on knowing what happened. The Angry Lunch Lady tells me he is one of the special needs children. I asked her, ” Was it really worth denying him what he wanted”.? Her response was “yes it was worth it, he does that all the time”.
Wait a minute, I thought. This boy has been completely quiet ever since I’ve worked here. I didn’t even know he was special needs. If she knew he was special needs why would she choose to upset him like that?
Yes, it was a choice for her to deny him what he wanted and he was provoked to that behavior.
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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq., prohibits all public schools and most private schools from discriminating against children with disabilities. … In contrast, the ADA is the only protection available to children with disabilities in private schools that do not receive federal funds.
Discrimination of any kind is prohibited within the school system.
If you suspect that anyone in your school is being discriminating towards special needs children, this is the information you will need to make a formal complaint.
You will need names, dates, any witnesses, and as much detail as you can offer.
Keep in mind that you may not find anyone willing to cooperate as a witness. If this is the case then your best bet is to start creating a journal of what you are seeing. Make sure you include dates and as many details as you can remember.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial or parental status, sexual orientation, or if all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/or employment activities.) If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaintfilingcust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter us by mail at US Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or e-mail at program.intake@usda.gov. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (In Spanish) USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
The Angry Lunch Lady. Stories from the cafeteria 
Thank you for raising this issue.
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