If you think that in case of a fire, all students are evacuated from school buildings, do I have news for you…

Across the nation, schools are placing physically disabled students in “rescue rooms” instead of being evacuated.

Let that sink in: Physically disabled students who attend schools with more than one floor, are not evacuated during fires.

Yes, this is an acceptable practice.

And no, I was not aware that this is the policy at my child’s school. As a nondisabled and able-bodied individual, I never paused to consider that I needed to ask. I take full responsibility for that. It never crossed my mind that my child would be taken to a “rescue room” rather than have an adult help her exit the building.

The high school my daughter attends is a two story building. Like most schools, the only way for anyone who uses a wheelchair or mobility devices (or anyone who physically cannot do stairs) is to use the one and only elevator in the building. And as we know, you cannot use elevators during a fire.

Last week, my daughter, who is a Sophomore and a wheelchair user, was taken to a classroom during a fire drill while all other students were evacuated from the building. When she asked the adult why they were in the classroom and not going outside, the adult said, “So the fire marshals can find us in case of a fire; this is where they come to look.”

My daughter did the only thing she could think about at the time, she sent me a Marco Polo message, her face clearly showing her distress over the situation. Once home she said that statement translated into: “This is where fire and rescue retrieves your body and the body of your fellow disabled classmates if they don’t get to us in time.”

My heart breaks again and again every time I think about the darkness that settled in her heart as she wrestled with the fact that she could not get out of the building. That somewhere, someone decided her life was not worth prioritizing because of how her body works, and all she can do is “hope for the best” as she waits for a fire marshal to rescue her in time.

This is not okay.

So I emailed the principal and asked for an emergency meeting.

Related: I Am ‘That Mom’ When It Comes Fighting for My Kids With Disabilities

We are very fortunate that we have a principal who takes all concerns extremely seriously. He contacted all “the powers that be” and arranged for a meeting the following day.

Our meeting included myself, the principal, a fire marshal, a police officer who works at the school as a first responder, the building’s manager (the person who is in charge of safety and policy in all the buildings in our school district) my daughter’s case manager, and the head custodian. We had a full house.

And they were all there so we could make a plan for my daughter. And we did. My daughter will be evacuated from the building because I asked for it to be done.

I want to make it clear that while the response from the school was outstanding and things will change for my daughter. This policy remains in place at our school district, and all other physically disabled students who attend a two story school will still be taken to a “rescue room” in case of a fire.

The fire marshal who is appointed to the schools in our area did a phenomenal job at explaining how the building is set up in case of a fire. He walked me through sprinkling systems, to fire doors, to the panel in the custodian’s office. It would be extremely unlikely for a fire to spread beyond the room where it originates. I get that. I do.

And still, we evacuate all other students because while it is extremely unlikely for a fire to spread at the school, it is not impossible.

And this is why evacuating is always the best choice.

I asked all the people present how they though any parent would respond if they called them up to say their nondisabled child was going to be left inside a rescue room because “it’s extremely safe.” They of course understand no parent would be okay with that, nor would they even consider doing it. Except when it comes to physically disabled students, suddenly that option is acceptable.

As if disabled lives were expendable.

Of course nobody would say that, or even believe it, but my daughter sure felt that way when there is a policy in place where there are no efforts made to get her out of the building. And it feels that way because when it comes down to it, this is the consistent message she gets from the ableist society in which she exists.

Not only that, while she knows she will get to exit the building, now she knows that back inside the school, her friends on the second floor are waiting in a “rescue room.”

There is so much wrong with that.

We discussed evacuation chairs (stair chairs), and I truly believe the school would have gotten one if my daughter was not ambulatory. She can get herself physically down the stairs and out the building, leaving her chair behind. But they are not getting one for the other students.

I brought up evacuation slides (like the ones on planes), since I know of a high school that uses them.

And also I brought up that organizations led by actually disabled individuals advocate for all first floor classes for disabled students. This makes a lot of sense to me.

But how do school districts come up with such policies? In my emails with the principal, I learned this policy to have a “rescue room” follows the guidance from the State’s Department of Public Safety and the American United Spinal Association. The plan was also developed with input from the State Fire Marshal, local fire chief, district and school officials, and… parents?

I honestly don’t think most parents know this is happening. Parents of nondisabled and disabled kids alike, because this should bother all parents, regardless of who their child is.

Also, I want to point out that while the American United Spinal Association was mentioned as a resource for making the plan, now led by disabled activists, their recommendation is to have all first floor classes so a physically disabled student can easily exit the building.

These policies have been in place for decades, and I think it’s time for a better universal plan where evacuating disabled students is a priority, because an accessible plan benefits everyone!

So did things work out for us? For my daughter? Yes, and I am very fortunate that from the moment I brought this up, the necessary people were contacted so we could make a plan for my child.

But remember, the policy of “rescue rooms” remains. At our district, and possibly at yours.

Because of privacy laws, I have no way to inform and contact other parents at our school. Policy will not change if I’m the only one speaking out. This is going to take all parents of children affected by this policy to speak out, and we also need you, our allies, to raise the alarm for policies that can potentially endanger our children.

Even if you do not have a disabled child, ask at your school what their policy is. If they have a “rescue room,” fight to change that policy. There are options to evacuate physically disabled students. A “rescue room” is what’s easy, not what is best.

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