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MOUNTAIN TOP — In today’s world, Francesca Scarano should have the opportunity to become anything she wants to be and be able to go anywhere she would like to go.
For now, the Crestwood Middle School student wants to be a cheerleader.
The fact that she isn’t is disturbing.
Francesca is a young girl with developmental and physical disabilities who uses a wheelchair and wanted to be a cheerleader. However, according to a lawsuit filed this month, she had to buy her own uniform and was excluded from team photos. Her mother alleges this and more in a discrimination suit filed against Crestwood School District in federal court.
In the suit Pamela Scarano said her daughter stopped participating in the program in October 2017 due to the district’s “persistent attempts to exclude” her.
Last year, by the way, Francesca was named Pennsylvania Miss Amazing Teen Jr.
Scarano filed the suit Sept. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Scranton, seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the district and Kerri Fey, the head cheerleading coach.
We’re not going to debate the merits of the lawsuit because we just don’t have all the information. What we do know is that this situation should never have gotten to this point.
Francesca Scarano should be a cheerleader — plain and simple.
Why she isn’t, remains to be learned.
I called the Scaranos’ lawyer, Lucas Repka, and left a voice message. It was not returned.
I left a Facebook message for Francesca’s mother. It was not returned.
I did speak to Crestwood Superintendent Bob Mehalick who said about as much as he could about the situation, which was created long before he got the job at Crestwood.
Mehalick told me of his background as a special education supervisor and advocate and as a caseworker for adults with mental and/or physical challenges. He assured me that all students at Crestwood, especially those with disabilities, would be welcomed and allowed to participate in all school activities.
Mehalick said he had a deep appreciation for people with disabilities.
Mehalick said he wasn’t aware of the the situation with Francesca Scarano until he read about the lawsuit in the Times Leader. Since then, he has has conversations with staff about it and he said he wants to do anything he can for her.
“I’m looking into it,” Mehalick said. “Where there’s a barrier, there’s a way.”
The suit alleges there was a pattern of intentional discrimination against Francesca that denied her the benefits of the district’s extracurricular activities in violation of the federal Rehabilitation Act and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The girl “suffered substantial educational and developmental losses, causing a permanent decline in her future development,” the suit said.
In the lawsuit:
• Mrs. Scarano said she registered her daughter for the cheerleading program that has a no “cuts” policy and allowed anyone to participate. She said she spent about $300 on uniforms and a backpack for her daughter.
• However, the district failed “to create a liaison and to develop directives to cheerleading coaches, as well as the school’s athletic director.”
• The photograph for the team was taken on a hill that made it difficult for Francesca, who uses a wheelchair, to join the other cheerleaders.
• For the district’s homecoming parade on Sept. 30, 2017, Francesca was left behind a fence with no plan to include her in the team photograph.
• When Francesca “was forced to leave team because of the district’s actions,” neither Scarano nor her daughter received a call from any coach asking why she was not returning.
All of these issues need to be resolved by the court. That this situation has reached this point is most disturbing.
In 2019, we should expect discrimination to be a thing of the past — the distant past. Everybody — those with disabilities and those without — should expect to have the same opportunities in life.
“Inclusive” is one of those terms used so often today, yet in some instances, not practiced.
Francesca Scarano wants to be a cheerleader and I am certain she would be the best darn cheerleader she could be.
If given the chance.
It’s as simple as that.