It was intended to be a positive educational exercise for Charles County students with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a trip to a local store followed by a meal at a nearby Cracker Barrel restaurant.

Instead, a group of 11 students with disabilities and seven staff members were barred from school Tuesday at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf, Maryland, Charles County Public Schools Superintendent Maria Navarro wrote in a letter to parents.

Kisa Lee is the mother of an 8-year-old boy who has autism and is in the second grade of the Dr. SOAR program. James Craik Elementary School is in Pomfret.

She told WTOP she received an email from one of the teachers who accompanied the group of children to Cracker Barrel about “rude” treatment from management and staff at the restaurant, and that the manager on duty told the group that they don’t accommodate “This type of group.”

Emphasizing that she was not present for the field trip, which is billed as a “community-based class,” Lee said the teacher described the host at Cracker Barrel as “immediately rude” about the size of the group.

In Navarro’s letter to parents, the principal stated that school officials “informed the facility of the planned visit and also indicated how many people were in the group” and that school staff “were allegedly informed by restaurant staff that none Reservations are necessary.”

Lee said the teachers accompanying the students offered to break up into smaller groups and that after some back and forth, the group was seated in a closed area to wait.

“While they were there, they observed groups coming in and out,” Lee told WTOP.

In the end, the teachers ordered takeout and had the children wait on the bus for the food.

Navarro wrote in her letter to parents that on the day of the visit, school staff were told by the restaurant that the business should be removed from the list of businesses that provide community-based educational trips. Lee said the trips are about taking students into public spaces to help them become more comfortable in everyday social situations and activities.

Lee called the account of the situation “heartbreaking” and said as a mother of an autistic child whose coping behavior can draw stares, “I’ve just accepted the stares and the stress that comes with taking a child with autism.” and sensitivities and ADHD in public.”

She said it was disheartening to hear the group was denied a positive experience.

Lee’s son is considered nonverbal, she said, but he was enthusiastic about the planned trip to Cracker Barrel and even practiced pronouncing his favorite food, “fries.”

Lee said the school does the “community-based educational field trips” once a month: “They had this field trip to McDonald’s and that went great.”

In a statement to WTOP, Cracker Barrel said it strives to be welcoming to all guests and recognizes that this incident “fell short of those expectations.”

“A staffing challenge resulted in the closure of part of our second dining room that day, causing confusion that impacted the group’s experience. “We are taking this matter seriously and are working directly with the group’s leadership to better understand what happened, apologize and make things right,” they wrote.

The Waldorf regional manager told WTOP he could not comment on the incident.

Navarro said in her letter that the “alleged treatment” was something “no one should have to experience.”

“It is encouraging to learn that the district manager said the company is willing to work with CCPS to do better,” she added.

Navarro added that “other retailers and restaurants have attempted to offer their locations as CBI locations, with open invitations to CCPS students.” She ended her letter by saying, “We look forward to hearing from Cracker Barrel. “

Lee said when people see parents struggling with children with disabilities and show empathy, “It literally almost brings me to tears…it’s so helpful and makes all the difference.”

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