A South Carolina family is raising hard questions about how schools handle life-skills programs for students with disabilities. Jeremiah and Felicia Sams say their son Will, a Lakewood High School student on the autism spectrum, was told to clean tables and floors in the cafeteria in Sumter. The school described it as a “work study program,” but the father says Will wasn’t enrolled in an employability class, and that only students with disabilities were doing the cleaning. “If you are singling out a group to do a task, that’s discrimination,” he said.
The Sumter School District says employability and life skills instruction are part of its approach and that those activities are being reviewed. The family says the cleaning stopped after their meeting, but they’re pushing for accountability and oversight of how students with disabilities are monitored and directed. The story raises a question families across the country, including here on the Suncoast, are asking: where is the line between teaching job skills and using students for free labor?
For parents in Sarasota, Manatee, and Charlotte counties, the practical takeaway is simple: read the IEP, ask what work-based activities are included, and request details on supervision and consent. Districts should be able to explain exactly how a program is structured and why a particular student was placed in it. If they can’t, that’s worth a conversation with the school and, if needed, the district office. Have you ever asked your child’s school about work program placements? Share your experience in the comments.
