B.C. school reverses decision to exclude 'devastated' girl with disabilities from trip

A Canadian mom was "devastated" after finding out her 12-year-old daughter wasn’t allowed to go on a field trip with her classmates — a decision that ended up being reversed after backlash.

She says the reason is still unclear.

Leah Burrell's daughter Sophia has epilepsy and autism. She has an education assistant with her at all times at her school West Langley Elementary, located just outside of Vancouver.

On June 16, Burrell received an email that Sophia won't be able to accompany her classmates on a trip to the water slides at Cultus Lake, B.C.

"Initially, they cited safety concerns, but then they came back with work safe concerns, and it really hasn't been detailed to me," the mother recalled.

"She's obsessed with water slides. She was very much looking forward to going," said Burrell.

Burrell spoke about what happened with Tamara Taggart, a veteran broadcaster who hosts a health and wellness podcast.

Taggart then shared a Twitter thread on the incident, which received more than 1,000 likes and 300 retweets as of Thursday.

Burrell said the Langley School District got involved right after the tweet gained some traction.

"The district said they had found a way for her to go on the field [trip]… it was a brief email," Burrell claimed.

"But there has been very little communication overall… and so really no clear expectation or explanation as to what has changed."

After the post was shared widely on twitter, Burrell said many people from across Canada have sent her messages of their own similar experiences.

"I'm not alone. I'm not the only one experiencing this… I’ve gotten messages from a lot of families who have been in the exact same situation as myself. So it's just very heart-wrenching to hear that," she said.

This was not the first time that this happened to Burrell's daughter either, she added.

About three weeks ago, Burrell said the school told her that Sophie couldn’t go on a class trip to the Playland Amusement Park, but then the district got involved and reversed that decision.

"I have an email from them saying she'd be going on all field trips with her class, and then two weeks later to get a call saying that she wasn't going on this field trip… That was pretty shocking to me at that point," Burrell said, which then prompted her to share her story publicly.

'It’s not over'

Sophie, who was upset by the initial decision, ended up going on the field trip Thursday.

In an email to Yahoo Canada, the Langley School District said it continued "to work with staff, the family and the venue to ensure the field trip will be safe for all students and staff.

"The District and school have been working together for the last few days and have developed a plan with accommodations and additional staff provided to ensure all students can attend and have their needs met," the statement read.

The district also added all students in Grades 6 and 7 from West Langley Elementary would be attending the Thursday trip. "The District has communicated this information to the family. The District has communicated this plan with a representative from the venue," it said.

Burrell said she’d love a formal apology, but claims she "understands that they’ll never do that." Now, she's focused on working with the district to get further clarification on their initial decision.

She’s also trying to plan ahead in regard to future school trips, she added.

"[Sophie is] supposed to go on a grade 7 field trip next year for a camping trip, and I'm trying to confirm they're planning ahead in regards to that," said Burrell.

"It’s not over. We still have a long way to go."

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