School Denies Claim They Asked Deaf Boy to Change His Sign Language Name Because of Weapon Policy
The parents of a six-year-old deaf boy in Nebraska made headlines earlier this week by claiming their son's teachers wanted him to change the way he signs his name.
The parents say the school explained to them that that
the sign language for the boy's name, "Hunter," resembled a gun, an apparent violation of the school's policy concerning weapons.
The Grand Island Public School District, however, claims it never asked Hunter Spanjer to use a different sign for his name. They say the issue is over which type of sign language Hunter is using.
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In a statement, the district said:
"The school district teaches American Sign Language (ASL) for students with hearing impairments. ASL is recommended by the Nebraska Department of Education."
However, the state's DOE said they in fact do not recommend it.
The Grand Island district followed up this week, releasing a new statement in which they said they are not 'changing the name' of any student, nor how it's signed.
The parents are standing by their original story, and the community's outrage over the issue is causing many critics to say the school needs to revisit how it addresses these types of issues.
Trace Gallagher reported on the situation on America Live.
