A mother is waging a legal battle against a school in the United Kingdom that asked her son to wear a high-visibility bib to help teachers know he is autistic.
Mother Joanne Logan will sue Cherry Lane Primary School in West Drayton, London, at the disability tribunal.
Logan accuses the school of discriminating against her son Charlie, 7, for being autistic by requiring him to wear a bright yellow bib during break times in February, 2019.
She became “furious” after hearing Charlie complain about feeling uncomfortable about having to wear the bib at school.
The mother was especially upset because she claims she was never informed by the school that Charlie was required to wear a bib.
The school’s management argues the mother already knew Charlie would have to wear the bib and other students also wear bibs in the playground for different reasons. However, Logan debates how clearly this information was relayed to her. She maintains she would not have consented, had she known exactly what this entailed.
A spokesperson from the local Hillingdon Council confirmed that “reflective vests are not compulsory wear for anyone and are only used with parental consent” at that school.
After Logan complained to the school, Charlie did not have to wear the vest anymore. The relationship with the school deteriorated so badly, she decided to move Charlie to another school.
The plaintiff, who has five autistic children, two of whom are now adults, admits she cannot seek financial compensation and is taking legal action to win a landmark case so Charlie and other children will never have to stand out among their peers again.
“I just want to make sure that no other autistic child needs to be put through what we did and it needs to be challenged—and, if this case is won, it could change that,” Logan said.
She revealed she is not the only concerned parent.
“I have had a lot of people say they’ve had similar [experiences]. It can affect a child as they get older—they realize they’re different,“ she said. ”They know all these things. They just want to be accepted … we need to stop singling out our disabled kids.”
Simpson Millar lawyer Sarah Woosey is representing Logan and her family, and confirmed the dispute has been escalated to the Upper Tier Tribunal, which will decide whether the case can be heard.
The lawyer lodged the claim slightly more than six months after the incident with Charlie happened. Rules state that any claim must be lodged within six months, except for when the deadline falls during the Christmas or school summer holidays.
“We are now fighting hard to ensure that this case is allowed to progress, as we feel strongly that it is important to secure justice on behalf of Charlie, as well as provide reassurance to the thousands of parents out there with children who have special educational needs that schools must treat children fairly and in accordance with the law,” Woosey said.
Since Logan’s application for publicly funded legal aid has been denied she has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help pay for legal expenses.
The local council said the legal proceedings have not officially begun yet.
“There is no legal case against Hillingdon Council in relation to this or any disability discrimination,” a spokesperson said. “Ms. Logan has chosen to provide elective home education for her son.”
Logan is temporarily home-schooling Charlie until he secures a place in a specialist London school that caters specifically to autistic children.
“Since he’s been out of school he’s been such a good boy. I’ve had no problems at home,” she said. “I just want him in the right place so he’s happy.”
