KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Two parents in Kansas City are outraged after they say their blind son was punished on the school bus by having his cane replaced with a pool noodle.
According to FOX 4, Dakota Nafzinger, 8, had his cane taken away for bad behavior on the bus. School officials say they took it away after he reportedly hit someone with it and wanted to stop him from hurting himself or others.
However, his family tells FOX 4 it was a way to humiliate him.
“Why would you do that? Why would you take the one thing that he’s supposed to use all the time? That’s his eyes,” his mother Rachel Nafzinger said.
Dakota was written up for his behavior on the bus, but his parents are upset that they also took away the thing he needs the most.
“They said they were going to give me this for the next two weeks,” Dakota said to FOX 4.
However, after the initial report, Dakota’s mother said school officials apologized and returned the cane.
The North Kansas City School District issued a statement to FOX 4 on Wednesday that reads in part:
“The District has reviewed the situation. We regret that a mistake was made in making sure the student was in possession of his cane when he boarded the bus Monday evening.
The District has apologized to the family and is working to rectify the situation.”
The cane is school property, but dozens of people reached out after the story and offered to buy Dakota his own cane.
