I am a 17-year-old legally blind high school student from Dayton, Ohio attending a public school within the Dayton Public Schools (DPS) district. I live with Stargardt Disease, a rare eye condition that causes progressive vision loss. But the greatest damage I’ve endured hasn’t come from my blindness---but from a system that continuously chooses to fail, ignore, and endanger me.

Since entering DPS in the 7th  grade, I have been denied basic rights, repeatedly harmed, and pushed to the edge by those entrusted with my education. I never asked to be treated differently---I only ever asked to be supported fairly. To this day, that support has not come.

In the 9th grade, I entered high school full of determination. Despite being blind, I stayed up all night completing assignments without proper accommodations. What took others thirty minutes took me three hours. There was no visual aid, no functioning assistive technology, no consistent intervention support. I was operating on survival mode, burning myself out just to keep up.

First quarter, I earned a 3.7 GPA. Then my mental health collapsed. I was hospitalized twice due to emotional breakdowns caused by academic neglect discrimination. When I returned, instead of grace, I was met with silence and stacked-up work. No extensions. No empathy. I failed the rest of the year---not because I was lazy, but because the system let me fall.

By sophomore year, I was skipping meals almost every day. And on the rare days I wouldn’t skip, I would repeatedly get the same yogurt parfait, which did not contain enough nutrients for me to function for the rest of the school day. The school had no accessible menu for proper assistance. I’d go hours hungry, eating the same limited things---or nothing at all---because I physically couldn’t see.  When I reported this, I was told I had refused help. Which was a lie.

I’ve also fallen physically---more than eight times across school years---down  stairs, across hallways, in areas that weren’t safe for someone with vision loss. Not once did someone try to come up with a real safety plan. No railing adjustments. No guide support. Just pain, bruises, and silence.

And still, I tried . . .

Teachers refused to follow my IEP. Some even discouraged me from taking AP classes, saying they couldn’t “handle” my blindness. The very people meant to support me doubted my intelligence, limited my opportunities, and emotionally sabotaged me.

I’ve been gaslit, harassed, pushed to my breaking point---and I am not the only one. 

This petition is about me, but it is bigger than me. One small step towards justice.

Every day in America, disabled students---especially those with invisible disabilities, such as blindness and chronic illness---are failed by the very schools that are legally bound to protect them. I am asking for more than help. I am demanding justice:

.    A retroactive academic restart through an accredited program (specifically Acellus Academy) for a second chance after I have been failed by  my public school system because of my disability.

.    Accountability for a school that violated IDEA, ADA, and Section 504 protections---not just through theory, but through life-changing remedies.

Why You Should Sign:

Because education is not a privilege---it’s a right.

Because no child should fall down stairs, skip meals, or be hospitalized because their school refused to care.

Because we don’t get a second childhood---but we deserve a second chance when the system steals our first.

This isn’t just my story---it’s the reality of thousands across the country. This is about your neighbor. Your sibling, your child. The next generation of disabled students deserves a future, not failure.

We need over 100+ voices for my fight for a second chance to be taken seriously by administration. One small step for one girl is the first stride towards one giant leap for legally blind students in America. I want no other student to be silenced, broken, or left behind. I am currently a junior in high school and am advocating for a retroactive academic restart, so please sign to help.

Final words:

I don’t want pity. I’m not here for sympathy. I am here because no one should suffer the way I have. I’m here to say: enough.

It’s time for the government, school boards, and educators to make things right. Sign this petition if you believe in equity. In compassion. In real second chances. Sign for every student who’s still trying to survive a system that was never built for them.

#AcademicJusticeNow

#DisabilityRightsAreHumanRights
#RestartForTheForgotten
#BlindNotBroken

#EyeOfJustice

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