City Councilors continue months-long push for new accessible entrance at English High
Boston City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy are again pushing for a new wheelchair-accessible entrance to English High School after months of stalled attempts to fix an entrance that leaves kids in wheelchairs dodging through the school’s dumpsters.
“We wanted to bring your attention to an issue that has been of concern to Councilor Murphy and Council President Flynn for over a year and has been a priority of our offices: your school’s accessibility, particularly for students with physical disabilities,” the councilors wrote in a letter to the English High community Friday.
The current entrance used by students in wheelchairs, City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy said, is the delivery and dumpster entrance at the school. The small entrance partially blocked by poles and dumpsters presents a number of difficulties to the students and staff helping them, she said, including requiring teachers to lift the chairs.
The issue was raised before city staff during Civic Engagement Day on Oct. 12, 2022, when a non-verbal student in a wheelchair explained the situation to several city officials.
After over a year, there has been no construction on the project, according to the councilors. At a City Council meeting Thursday, Flynn called on BPS to fix the ramp and ensure full accessibility within 14 days.
Over the last year, Murphy and Flynn said, they’ve been in contact with Mayor’s Office, Superintendent Skipper’s office, Boston Transportation Department, Commission of Persons with Disabilities and Boston Public Facilities management, with slow to stalled progress on a plan.
Officials from the school previously indicated the project was planned to be completed over the summer, but no construction was started by the start of school.
In the letter Friday though, the councilors said “the response from the administration of the Boston Public Schools has been underwhelming.”
Murphy filed an order in September requesting information on the project and plans. No response was given, Murphy and Flynn said, they refiled the order on Nov. 1.
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The letter also apologized to the English high community for the “lack of responsiveness” on a “serious problem with a relatively simple solution.”
“The lack of equitable and ADA compliant wheelchair accessibility puts such students at a disadvantage, unduly burdens teachers and staff, and flies in the face of what we talk about when we prioritize equal treatment under the law,” the letter read. “The whole English High community deserves full accessibility — period, full stop.”