APS admits mistake made in denying half-day class for girl
Child needs shorter option because her medical cannabis oil isn’t allowed on campus
Lindsay Sledge said she was told she can’t “pick and choose” between half-day and full-day kindergarten when she sends her daughter to school this fall.
She had requested to send the 4-year-old to half-day kindergarten due to Paloma Sledge-Guba’s chronic seizures and because her medicine— cannabis oil — isn’t legally allowed on school grounds.
But now Albuquerque Public Schools is saying an error was made and told the Journal that Paloma will be allowed to attend half-day kindergarten if her mother chooses, which is in accor-
dance with state law that says full-day kindergarten is voluntary.
“Sometimes, because you are dealing with human capital, there are errors made,” said APS spokeswoman Monica Armenta. “We aren’t aware of every decision made at the schools.”
“That answer is not cutting it for me,” Sledge said, adding it’s “ridiculous” if school officials aren’t aware of the law.
After a legal team reviewed the state statute the Journal sent to APS, Armenta said the district will move forward with making any necessary accommodations to get Paloma started with half-day kindergarten.
During this past school year, her daughter attended half-day preschool. Sledge sat in her car each morning, waiting to administer the cannabis oil, a non-psychotropic extract of marijuana, both as a regular preventative and as a treatment in case Paloma had a seizure.
A neurologist recommended that Paloma try cannabis to help her condition, allowing her to get a medical marijuana card. Sledge said the cannabis oil, which she either puts under Paloma’s tongue or rubs into her gums, has to be administered within minutes of a seizure starting.
Since state law prohibits medical marijuana on school grounds and on school buses, Sledge drove off campus to treat her daughter.
But the mother of three said she can’t sit in the school parking lot for an entire school day if Paloma were required to attend fullday kindergarten.
“I felt like I was hitting a brick wall with APS. I can understand the medicine portion, but for them to say that she can’t even go half a day, I felt defeated,” she recalled. “I was tired.”
Sledge was at a loss when she was initially told she couldn’t have a half-day schedule next school year when Paloma enters kindergarten.
“I was told she either needs to be homeschooled, be in a homebound program or be at school all day,” she said.
Being Paloma’s full-time caretaker and teacher was something Sledge said she didn’t feel equipped to do, given that the 4-year-old also receives services from her school to help with developmental delays.
While waiting in the Petroglyph Elementary School parking lot was a personal and professional sacrifice this year, Sledge was just glad she found a treatment option that worked for her daughter.
Armenta didn’t know why Paloma wasn’t given the half-day option for next year in the first place.
Neither did Lisa Oliphant, APS special education principal support member. Oliphant told the Journal she remembered Paloma’s case and remembered meeting with Sledge but had no recollection of a request to send the 4-year-old to half-day kindergarten.
“Honestly, I don’t remember having that discussion with the parent,” she said.
Oliphant also said she did not know why Paloma wasn’t given the option for half-day school.
Sledge said Friday that she had not been contacted by APS yet. While she was encouraged by the decision, she doesn’t know what she will choose for her daughter next year.
But she did note that, even if she chooses half-day, she will still have to sit in her car and wait while Paloma goes to school.
“It’s not what I hope for in the long run, but it’s a good first step,” she said.
Sledge is still aiming to change the state law that prohibits cannabis oil on school grounds. Since the Journal first published her story, she said legislators have reached out to her and she’s eagerly awaiting the next legislative session to see if things will change.
Fred Nathan Jr., founder and executive director of the statewide think tank Think New Mexico, originally pushed for the fullday kindergarten law.
“While full-day kindergarten is the best choice for the vast majority of children, there are exceptions, which is why Think New Mexico drafted the law to give families options,” he said.
Nathan said while medical reasons weren’t the original intent of the law, he feels Paloma’s chronic seizures are an appropriate exercise of the law.
He had sent a letter to APS Superintendent Raquel Reedy noting the law but didn’t hear back. He hopes Reedy will work to make sure the district and schools know about the law to make sure other families know their options.