After the Letter

My husband Adam and I met with the principal five days after I emailed her my letter.  By that time I was exhausted by all of the stress, and the time and focus I'd put into the issue.  I was also extremely anxious every time I was at the school - afraid that my baby would need to eat, and I would risk another complaint to feed him wherever we were, or choose to go to the private conference room and feel complicit in this violation of our right.

Adam had found this thread on a listserv for Dallas moms, the resolution of which is here. A mother was essentially banned from the school, except the office, for breastfeeding, and eventually she was allowed back.  But I was very anxious about our meeting, worried my authorization to be on campus might be revoked.  Several friends were encouraging, optimistic that there would be an apology.  I was less hopeful, and besides, by the time we met, I wanted to address the issue at the district level, not just in my school.

The principal maintained that the lobby is an inappropriate place for nursing, and that she would have to ask me to move again if I did not use the conference room.  She had spoken to the district's legal adviser and he'd reassured her.  I told her that I didn't plan to use the conference room, and that I intended to urge the district to employ a policy that reflects the law and affords nursing mothers the respect they deserve.  I left feeling we'd agreed to disagree, and ready to move on to the next step.