Parent urges Hoover board to add accessible push‑button doors at Berry Middle
Get AI-powered insights, summaries, and transcripts
Subscribe
Summary
A Hoover parent asked the board to address a long‑standing accessibility problem at Berry Middle, saying requests for push‑button automatic doors date to 2018 and that students who use wheelchairs must rely on staff assistance or a propped door.
A parent of a Berry Middle School student told the Hoover School Board on Oct. 7 that the school needs accessible push‑button doors at both the front and back entrances to comply with accessibility needs and ease daily movement for students who use wheelchairs.
Dustin Chandler, who identified himself as a parent, said teachers and students have asked for a push‑button accessible entrance since Feb. 22, 2018, and that requests were renewed in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025 without resolution. Chandler said several middle‑school students who use wheelchairs must be helped through doors or rely on staff to hold doors open.
“I am just asking you guys to assess the complex — the building — not only at Berry, but in every single facility in Hoover that serves students with disability,” Chandler said. “The teachers need it, but the students also deserve it.”
Chandler said one eighth‑grader struggles to open a door multiple times during the school day and that staff sometimes resort to propping the door — a temporary and unacceptable fix, in his view. He referenced the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title II requirements while urging the board to inspect facilities and prioritize accessibility fixes.
Board members acknowledged Chandler’s comments and directed that the concern be reviewed by staff. No formal board action was taken during public comment; Chandler asked the board to review access across district facilities and report back.
The comment highlighted the intersection of ongoing capital or maintenance planning and daily operational accessibility for students with disabilities.