It is Christopher Simental's senior year . Like other students at Eastwood High School, he is getting ready for homecoming, but he has run into a big problem and called on Newschannel 9 for help.
"The main reason I wrote in is because this week is our homecoming week and I bought two tickets to the dance. The dance is at the Bob Lesley gym, which is a gym that is inaccessible," he says.
Dependent on a wheelchair to get around, Chris is upset he cannot get into the gym on his own.
"There is no way possible for me to get down to the bottom floor without getting assistance from others. However, that poses a risk for the people helping me and I would like to do it independently," Chris tells us.
He says back in June,he made district leaders aware that the gym is not accessible to wheelchairs, but they still have not made any improvements. He tells us he does not understand the hold up because there are solutions.
"It can be done as simply as implementing a lift. Yes, it takes time, I understand. Yes, it takes money, but it can be done. The reason I know it can be done is because at another school where I had a similar issue, it was taken care of in about a week and a half," he explains.
District leaders at YISD tell us they are well aware of Chris' request and are currently in the process of having a mobile wheelchair lift taken to Eastwood for him to use. As far as long term plans, we are told the district is in the process of exploring a more permanent fix, so Chris and other students with disabilities can access the gym in the future without a problem.
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