As parents, we try to respect and help teachers enforce the rules of their classroom. After all, parents and teachers have a true partnership, aligned for the sole purpose of growing, educating, and best preparing a child for their future. When a teacher is more intent on following rules than protecting a child’s safety, however, all bets are off. That’s exactly how an outraged mom felt after learning her son was nearly sent into a diabetic coma — because of a teacher’s ego.
The mom alleged via Reddit that her 13-year-old son, who has diabetes, was in class taking a test when his glucose monitor went off, signaling that he needed to check his blood sugar. The student, mind you, already has a 504 plan on file that allows him to check his monitor and treat highs or lows at any point during the school day — including during tests. When he asked the teacher if he could look at his monitor, however, the teacher refused, saying “No electronics, period,” and made him wait.
AITA for reporting a teacher who gave my son detention for checking his glucose monitor during a test?
byu/LilaPufffs inAITA_WIBTA_PUBLIC
Her son claimed he felt shaky, so he glanced at the monitor anyway. The teacher confiscated it and gave him detention for using a device during testing. The school nurse later confirmed that his blood sugar was, in fact, dropping rapidly.
“I emailed the teacher with a copy of the 504, and he replied that rules have to be consistent and that allowing devices looks like cheating,” the mom wrote.
She followed up with school administration, asking officials to remove the detention and retrain the staff. Although the detention was eventually reversed, the teacher doubled down in front of the class, stating that “testing integrity” comes first.
“I filed an incident report with the principal and district compliance, because I’m not waiting for the next low to turn into an ambulance ride,” the mom shared. “A two-second glance at a CGM does not hand out test answers—but withholding it can hand out a health crisis. I followed the plan, provided documentation, and escalated only after my son was punished for managing a condition the school already agreed to support. Protecting my kid’s health beats protecting a blanket rule.”
She ultimately wanted to know if she was “overreacting.” Dozens of parents responded: not even close.
“That teacher is a walking liability who cares more about his power trip than your kid not going into a diabetic coma,” one outraged Redditor commented.
“Normally I’m more on the side of better training than costing a dude his livelihood, but this fool seems like he’s fighting to stay ignorant—so yeah, he should be shown the door,” another person agreed.
“I’m a teacher, and I had two Type 1 diabetic kids in my room for state testing last year. Before doing the directions for the whole class, I pulled them aside to remind them they were allowed to check their electronic monitors and to let me know if any further action was required. Your kid’s teacher was in the wrong, and asking for retraining was completely reasonable,” added another commenter.
The fact that this teacher gambled with a child’s well-being for the sake of his own ego is beyond egregious. Were I that mother, I would doggedly pursue that teacher being let go if he’s unwilling to accept retraining. Considering the Americans with Disabilities Act officially recognizes glucose monitoring as a testing accommodation, there’s no excuse for this teacher’s willful ignorance.
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