Federal Investigation Sought In Florida Pre-K Diabetic Issue
FORT LAUDERDALE (AP) — Diabetes in children is on the rise. Some experts have predicted a 23 percent increase in the number of children with Type 1 diabetes by 2050.
This increase has impacted schools and daycare centers, some of which have had a hard time dealing the growing number of students who need special care.
Now a federal investigation is being sought into claims that diabetic children are being turned away from many Florida pre-kindergarten programs.
The American Diabetes Association and Southern Poverty Law Center want the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to examine whether pre-k programs routinely discriminate against children with diabetes.
The law center's own investigation of 75 Broward County pre-k programs found that only 16 percent were willing to make all the necessary accommodations, including monitoring a child's blood sugar level and giving insulin injections. About a third of providers said they had no space for the diabetic child even though parents of children without diabetes were told there was space.
The complaint says pre-k providers are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and other laws by discriminating against diabetic children.
