Dad learned his autistic son was cleaning cafeteria tables after his classmates ate — but the school's justification made him even angrier

Adults know how tough high school can be on a teenager. When Jeremiah and Felicia Sams found out their autistic son, Will, was made to clean the cafeteria tables and floors at his Lakewood High School in Sumter, South Carolina, they were not thrilled. When Will told his parents about the "cleaning activity," Jeremiah immediately asked, "What are you talking about cleaning?" He spoke to the school to understand what his son meant, but the answer they gave him made it worse. He called it an act of "discrimination." WRAL reported the story on October 20, 2026, and it racked up 45,337 views, 669 likes, and 317 comments.

'Work study program'

Jeremiah asked Will to explain exactly what the school made him do. The teen said, "Oh, well, we have to go in and clean, and they give us gloves and a bucket." Jeremiah thought he misunderstood the situation, so he spoke to the school leaders for clarification. He found out that only disabled students were made to clean the cafeteria. But the school claimed it was part of their "work-study program." Jeremiaiah responded, "If you are singling out a group — an individual group — to do a task, that’s discrimination. It’s black and white," WIS 10 reported.

Life skills under review

As the story went viral, Lakewood High School explained in a statement that the "activity" was a part of their employability class. But Jeremiah said that Will was never enrolled in any employability class. The statement read, "Students are offered a variety of activities, including clearing cafeteria tables, selling popcorn and slushies as classroom fundraisers, and creating crafts." However, the school has stopped its "work-study program" after Jeremiah met with them.

They added, "The district’s life skills activities and any alternative approaches that provide meaningful opportunities for students to develop independence and practical life skills are being reviewed to ensure they support the goals of each student." Jeremiah concluded that he wanted to see some accountability from the school regarding how their children are being monitored and "pushed."

Durable skills for students

There is nothing wrong with teaching students life skills. In fact, parents were supportive of their children learning them. An Ed Choice survey from 2025 found that 51% of school parents believed that it was "extremely important" for schools to teach their children durable skills, such as responsibility, adaptability, critical thinking, teamwork, and communication. But when a specific group of students is assigned these tasks under the guise of learning life skills, it's understandable why the practice is seen as discriminatory. Jeremiah Sams told the news outlet, "Those teachers didn’t even say anything. They knew it was wrong," referring to making a group of disabled children do the cleaning and calling it "teaching" them "life skills."

'Life skills or free labor'

Viewers called out the school's "work-study program" in the comment section. @DrM-y3d wrote, "Let the parents know beforehand about the work-study program." @richiehardman7501 chimed in, "Unfortunately, this has been a thing. I remember in 2015-2019, when I was still in school, they had the special needs students go around the cafeteria pushing trash cans."

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