Perfect... Until...
I have been taking my son to Academy for Kids since he was 18 months old, with a brief 2 year leave when his grandmother cared for him. He is now almost 8 years old. It has been a terrific daycare. I never had to worry about my son when he was there. I have recommended this daycare to hundreds of people over the past six and a half years. Not anymore.
My son suffers from a medical condition called encopresis. Based on his medical condition (which the director was informed about when he was five years old) the director and her assistant determined they no longer wanted my son to attend the daycare. His medical condition is not contagious, is not a danger to others, does not require medical treatment by the facility, he cares for it all by himself, without assistance from staff, but because it is something unfamiliar to the director and her assistant, they felt uncomfortable with my son being there. Due to this, they asked us to leave the facility and gave us three weeks to find another daycare. They did this without warning, without telling us face to face, I got the written notice in a letter attached to his sign in/out sheet. I tried to discuss it with the assistant director and she stated they didn't have the accommodations to care for my son. I told her the only accommodation he needs is a bathroom. I replied that this is medical discrimination, then contacted the Americans with Disabilities Act division under the U.S. Department of Justice. They confirmed that the daycare center could not make my son stop attending based on his medical condition. I informed the director of this and she said he could stay and that she will be checking to make sure they are following regulations. I also informed her that she could not deem him as special needs and try to increase our rate, because he needs no assistance. Unfortunately, she tried to do just that. The next letter I received was from her attorney stating that due to the hardships the facility has had to endure, they would need to increase my monthly rate by almost 3 times the normal rate. I spoke with his direct daycare providers who are with him every day and they have told me they never have to do anything for my son, they never have to clean up after him, nor do they assist him in any way. I spoke with the ADA again and they again confirmed that I could not be charged an increased rate. I spoke with a discrimination law attorney who also said that it is illegal to charge an increased rate for a medical condition. I spoke with the State of Oregon's Child Care Division and they put me in touch with the daycare's licensing specialist who also told me it is illegal to charge an increased rate. When I went back to the daycare to discuss this with the directors, they said they would need to take it back to their attorney and discuss it further, even though I gave them the documents from the ADA's website that states they cannot ask my son to leave and they cannot charge an increased rate. I was so disgusted and disappointed in their response. It was clear to me that they would go to any lengths to make my son leave. I wanted, with all my heart, to fight them legally on this, because we would win without question. Then I thought, 'even if we do win, do I really want my child to be cared for by people who are dishonest, discriminatory, and are willing to break the law?' Naturally, the immediate answer was 'no, I do not.' I know that I could never believe another thing they said to me, which means that the trust we had is broken. Based on this I removed him from the center and have placed in him another daycare. read more