How Can I Do #ItCantBeZero for My School?
A step-by-step guide to auditing your local school district or community center's extracurricular catalog and turning frustration into hard, objective data that public officials can't easily dismiss.
PHASE I: DATA COLLECTION & TALLYING
Gather the raw materials and establish
your baseline numbers.
Step 1: Obtain the Master Document
Find the official, current school catalog for seasonal enrichment, after-school clubs, community, education, or your sports leagues.
Step 2: Establish the Total Opportunity Baseline (T)
Count every single distinct program, class, or sport offered to students. Example: 120 total activities.
Step 3: Conduct the Inclusion Keyword Scan
Read through every program description, the introductory pages, and the fine print at the back. Highlight or note any of these explicit terms:
Adaptive / Adapted
Sensory-Friendly / Sensory-Inclusive
Special Needs / Accommodations Provided
Inclusion / Modified Rules
PHASE II: CATEGORIZATION & FILTERING
Separate nominal inclusion from actual, actionable programs to find true accessible program count (A).
Category A — Explicitly Inclusive / Adaptive Programs designed specifically for neurodivergent youth, or general programs that explicitly outline how they accommodate sensory or behavioral needs (e.g., offering a 1:1 buddy or aide).
Category B — Performative or Vague Statements Blanket boilerplate text at the bottom of a webpage like "We do not discriminate." Do not count these as an accessible program unless they provide concrete steps on how to get an accommodation.
Category C — Systemic Rejection / Total Gaps Programs that explicitly state parents must provide their own supervision, or programs with rigid behavioral/safety policies that effectively bar autistic children without school-provided support.
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PHASE III: CALCULATE THE ‘INCLUSION RATIO’
Run a simple calculation to establish
the scope of the problem.
Inclusion Rate = (Accessible Programs [A] ÷ Total Programs [T]) × 100
If A = 0: You've documented a True Zero — the district is providing 0% actionable extracurricular access to neurodivergent children.
If A = 1 or 2 out of 100+: You've documented Token Inclusion (usually under 1–2%), demonstrating a severe access gap.
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PHASE IV: SYSTEMIC BARRIER TESTING
(The Audit Step)
A catalog can look open to everyone on paper while breaking down in practice. Test the system directly with a real, logistical question sent to a program coordinator.
The Test: Email the coordinator asking a basic accommodation question:
"My child is autistic and requires a sensory cooldown break / a 1:1 paraprofessional to participate in the after-school art club safely. Does the district provide this accommodation for extracurriculars?"
The Log: Document their response, word for word, with the date. A reply like "No, parents must provide that" or "Unfortunately, we don't have staff for that" doesn't prove a legal violation on its own — but it's strong, specific, dated evidence that raises real questions about whether the district is meeting its Section 504 and ADA Title II obligations to provide reasonable accommodations for extracurricular activities. Districts are generally required to accommodate unless doing so would impose an undue burden or fundamentally alter the program — a fact-specific legal standard, not an automatic trigger. That's exactly why documenting the response in writing matters: it's the evidence a real legal or advocacy review would actually need to evaluate the claim.
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PHASE V: PRESENTING YOUR FINDINGS
TO THE SCHOOL BOARD
When you present this data during public comment, keep it precise and evidence-forward. Sample script:
"Good evening. I've conducted an accessibility audit of our district's [SEASON] Extra-Curricular Catalog. Our district offers [Total Number] enrichment opportunities for our student body. When I audited that catalog for adaptive framework, sensory adjustments, or explicit accommodation pathways, the number of genuinely accessible programs for our autistic and neurodivergent students was [Your Number, e.g., ZERO].
When I directly asked program coordinators about basic accommodations, the responses I documented raise real, serious questions about whether the district is meeting its obligations under Section 504 and the ADA to provide equal access to extracurricular programming.
I'm requesting that the board review the discretionary general fund budget to earmark resources for adaptive specialist training and after-school inclusion aides. “
This framework was built from a real audit of 875 programs across three seasonal offerings in a Michigan school district — zero of which offered meaningful supports for autistic students. #ItCantBeZero exists so no other family has to start from scratch.