Special needs students refused service at Cracker Barrel, school says [Video]

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. (WJLA) — A Cracker Barrel restaurant in Maryland is the center of controversy following a visit by a group of students with special needs.

The school district’s superintendent says the group was refused service despite them calling ahead and being told no reservation was needed.

Stacy Campbell said her 9-year-old son Jojo was diagnosed with autism at 16 months old. He has special needs and has benefited from school programs that include community-based activities like going to stores and restaurants.

“These types of trips are extremely beneficial to them, or for him specifically, because it allows him to be able to explore without all of the white noise and all of his senses being overloaded,” she said.

But Tuesday, one of those field trips to the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Waldorf went astray.

It wasn’t the kids’ behavior either, according to a letter to parents from a …