Imagine dropping off your disabled children at school and facing hostility for using a publicly designated disability parking space.

This week, while dropping my disabled children off at school in Colorado, I used a publicly designated disability parking space on a residential street near their school.

What should have been a normal school drop-off became an upsetting and frightening confrontation.

A nearby homeowner told me that the disability parking space was “her” parking space. The situation escalated to the police being called, my children’s school being contacted, and an encounter involving her vehicle that left me feeling unsafe.

My children were there for something incredibly ordinary: going to school.

I was using accessible parking because my children have disabilities and accessibility needs. Families shouldn’t be made to feel intimidated, unwelcome, or afraid for legally using accessible spaces intended to provide access to our communities.

This incident also exposed a much larger problem.

Accessible parking near schools is essential for families whose children use adaptive strollers, wheelchairs, braces or other mobility supports, as well as children who may be ambulatory but cannot safely tolerate longer distances because of pain, weakness, fatigue or other disabilities.

Being able to walk does not mean a child doesn’t need accessible parking.

And accessible parking on a public street should not become the subject of territorial disputes simply because it happens to be located in front of someone’s home.

We need clearer policies, better public education and stronger protections surrounding publicly designated accessible parking—particularly around schools.

I’m asking local officials, school districts and Colorado policymakers to examine how accessible parking near schools is designated, communicated and protected and to ensure families of disabled students have safe, reliable access during arrival and dismissal.

This should include evaluating whether schools have adequate accessible parking and loading areas, clearly communicating the rules surrounding accessible spaces on public streets, and establishing procedures for addressing conflicts without putting disabled children or their caregivers in unsafe situations.

This isn’t about one homeowner or one parking space.

It’s about what this experience revealed.

Parents of disabled children already spend enormous amounts of energy navigating accessibility barriers. We shouldn’t also have to wonder whether using a designated accessible parking space will lead to confrontation.

Accessible parking isn’t a privilege.

It’s access.

Please sign and share this petition to help make school access safer and more inclusive for disabled students and their families throughout Colorado.

Our children deserve to arrive at school safely, with dignity, and without being made to feel like they don’t belong. ♿💜