‘Should not have happened’: Student finally allowed to use accessible parking placard at high school

The standoff between an Elgin family and Burlington-based Central School District 301 over whether a student with an accessible parking placard can use it at his high school without a school parking pass is over.

Sharron Hagge said that during a Tuesday meeting with school district officials, they were told her son Gavin could use the placard and park in an accessible spot.

“It is such mixed emotions,” Sharron Hagge said Thursday morning. “We are absolutely grateful that he can now drive himself to and from school without worry. But this should not have taken this much time … not to mention thousands of dollars in legal fees on both sides of the issue.

“There’s still that frustration that this should not have happened in the first place.”

Gavin, 16, suffered a concussion playing soccer as a sophomore for the Central High School JV team on Sept. 26, 2023.

He still suffers from chronic headaches and sensitivity to light and sound more than a year later. The neurologist caring for Gavin recommended a temporary accessible parking pass, which the state granted, because he didn’t want the teen riding on a bus or relying on his parents if he needed to leave school.

Gavin does not experience any problems when he drives himself. He completed driver’s education through the school district while dealing with his post-concussion symptoms.

The family emailed the officials before the school year began to notify them that Gavin had a state-issued accessible parking placard. But Central High officials told them that he would not be allowed to park at the school because he did not have a school parking pass.

“He can park anywhere in the United States except his public high school,” his dad, Eric Hagge, said last month.

Gavin applied for a parking pass through a lottery but was not selected before the school year or in a later lottery when spaces opened after a construction project was completed. When he parked in an accessible space in November, he was threatened with detention, and a disciplinary note was placed on his permanent record.

School district officials had contended that it was a safety issue and that they were working toward a solution that addressed their concerns and those of the family.

After several months of back-and-forth between the family, the district and lawyers for both sides, the issue was resolved after the family’s Tuesday meeting with District 301 Superintendent Esther Mongan and the district’s attorney.

“We are pleased to have reached an understanding that addresses the perspectives of both parties,” Mongan said Thursday in a written statement. “The district looks forward to continuing to collaboratively work with the family.”

Sharron said the matter has been affecting Gavin’s sleep and recovery.

“I’m grateful the focus can now be on him healing and recovering and feeling better without all the added stress that has been weighing on him,” she said.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241205/news/this-should-not-have-happened-in-the-first-place-student-finally-allowed-to-use-accessible-parkin/