ALLEN, Texas — Allen Independent School District is under federal investigation after a civil rights complaint was filed against the district in late 2022.
Christina Cabral-Arredondo, 45, said the district discriminated against her 5-year-old son Nicholas Arredondo, who has thrombocytopenia-absent radius syndrome. She said the discrimination occurred when she enrolled him in an early childhood program for disabled students.
The rare birth defect puts Arredondo at a high risk for internal bleeding and hemorrhaging, Cabral-Arredondo said. He’s also missing his arm bones, knee joints and shoulder blades.
“It just changes the way that he moves. But he walks, he plays with toys, he reads ... but they are making it completely inaccessible for him,” she said.
The complaint, which was filed with the federal Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, alleges that the district required Arredondo to be placed in a plastic stroller with a five-point harness to enter school; denied him entry to school until August 2022; made him use a plastic toilet on the floor; retaliated against him by threatening to disenroll him from the school; and maintained inaccessible facilities at Cheatham Elementary School, according to a letter sent to Cabral-Arredondo’s representatives from an Office for Civil Rights attorney.
District spokesperson David Hicks confirmed in an email Friday afternoon that the Office for Civil Rights recently launched its investigation.
“Allen ISD strongly believes that the claims in this complaint are without merit, and all procedures were followed in accordance with the law,” Hicks said in an email, adding that the district will fully cooperate with investigators.
Noting federal and state privacy laws, Hicks said the district isn’t able to provide further comment or information on the matter unless written consent is granted by the parent.
Karen Mayer Cunningham, a special education advocate who is helping Cabral-Arredondo through the complaint process, held a news conference outside of the AISD administration building Friday afternoon.
“It’s embarrassing in Texas that we have to fight this hard,” Cunningham said. “But we’ll fight this hard every day till we get it fixed.”
Jacqueline McClintock-Boylan, a mother of three who has faced similar issues with the district, said it “breaks” her to see this happening to other parents.
“It’s not right, it’s wrong,” she said. “It just makes me very upset.”
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Dallas Morning News staff writer Meghan Mangrum contributed to this report.)
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