Felicita Piñón weighed just 1 pound at birth. She was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy that requires her to use a power wheelchair, and she also has learning and emotional challenges. Yet despite these obstacles, Felicita, now an eighth grade student, is just like any other happy, active teenager who hasn’t let her disability limit her. She also did something remarkable that’s not typical of most teens – in 2025, she testified against a school voucher bill at the Texas Capitol.
But in 2024, when Felicita wanted to join a cheerleading team at her Crowley, Texas, middle school, her mother, Liz Piñón, said the school was not willing to make accommodations for her, as she felt federal disabilities laws required. She believed the school was discriminating against her daughter on the basis of her disability, as well as her race. She also noted that she knew of other nearby schools that had girls in wheelchairs who participated on cheerleading teams.
