School district bars girl from using sign language

School officials in Branchburg, New Jersey, need a nosebleed really bad.

This story is from April, but it's been almost completely covered up until now. Branchburg school officials have singled out a severely hearing-impaired girl by telling her she's not allowed to use sign language on the school bus. They've threatened the 12-year-old with suspension if she disobeys.

Sign language was the only way she had to communicate on the noisy bus.

The school system's excuse? They said sign language is a safety hazard. Seriously, they said that.

Fuck you, school officials.

Is the school district going to bar students who are not hearing-impaired from talking? If not, then school officials can look forward to a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the law Rand Paul wants to repeal). I hope the school is sued for everything it's worth and then some.

But if I was the parent of a child who was being discriminated against like this, I wouldn't wait for the lawsuit. I'd march right down to the school and make them pay.

It turns out the girl's hearing loss developed when a classmate shot a bottle rocket too close to her ear. The girl's parents already sued the Branchburg schools over that occurrence. One almost suspects that the school is retaliating over this lawsuit. America's schools are full of bitter, vindictive administrators, so who'd be surprised? Stuff like this happened to me, and it happened to lots of folks.

Mitch Daniels wants to make it impossible to sue a school, but he won't do anything about schools' retaliatory behavior.