3 Cracker Barrel Employees Fired After Refusing to Seat Group of Students with Special Needs

• Three employees at a Maryland Cracker Barrel have reportedly been dismissed after staff refused to seat a group of students with special needs on Dec. 3

• Superintendent of Charles County Public Schools, Maria V. Navarro, revealed in a Dec. 5 statement that the group had been visiting the restaurant “as part of community-based instruction (CBI)”

• Cracker Barrel said it was "completing an internal investigation with guest and employee interviews" following the incident, per 7News

Three Cracker Barrel employees have reportedly been dismissed from one of the restaurant's locations in Maryland after a group of students with special needs were allegedly denied dine-in service.

The alleged incident occurred on Tuesday, Dec. 3, while 11 students and seven staff members visited the Cracker Barrel in Waldorf, according to a Dec. 5 statement from Superintendent of Charles County Public Schools (CCPS) Maria V. Navarro.

The group was visiting the restaurant “as part of community-based instruction (CBI)” — which offers the students an opportunity “to practice generalizing skills they are learning in the classroom in the community" — when Navarro said they were refused service. They'd allegedly been told that no reservation was needed and that school staff members had “notified the establishment of the planned visit, including how many were in the party,” per the superintendent.

It's now been reported that three members of the store's team — including the General Manager — have been let go following the incident, per 7News, NBC4 Washington and USA Today.

Cracker Barrel didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.

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"Senior Cracker Barrel executives met on Monday with leadership and teachers from the school as well as the parent community to hear their concerns directly," a Cracker Barrel release obtained by 7News read.

"We also shared the actions we have taken and are taking to address recent missteps at that store location," it added, per the outlet.

"These actions include completing an internal investigation with guest and employee interviews, separating three members of the store’s team, including the General Manager, moving forward with specialized training for all employees at this particular store, and bolstering the already robust training we provide to managers nationwide," the release continued, stating that the company strives to "create a welcoming environment and great experience for guests of all abilities."

Per the release, the company insisted it has "a zero-tolerance policy against any form of discrimination," before reiterating that the service refusal was due to "staffing shortages."

Cracker Barrel said in a previously released statement obtained by PEOPLE that the incident occurred "due to our inability to accommodate a party of 18 that arrived when we were facing unexpected staffing issues and had partially closed our second dining room."

Despite acknowledging it was "unacceptable" to leave the students "disappointed," the restaurant chain insisted, "Our missteps last week were unfortunate but were unrelated to the students’ capabilities. ... Our failure to follow certain operational protocols combined with poor communication on our part then led to misunderstandings and misperceptions."

CCPS staff members have offered to work with Cracker Barrel “to provide training in disability awareness for its employees,” Navarro said in the previous statement.

Related: Pizza Hut Apologizes After Special Needs Students Allegedly Told to Rush for 'Regular' Customers

Following the incident, Dustin Reed — whose 7-year-old daughter is nonverbal — said, "It broke my heart," per NBC4 Washington.

Reed said of the group being able to place a carry-out order, “Pushed off to the side, and just not even paid attention to. Only thing they wanted to go in there to do was eat some food and enjoy their time there and learn from it,” according to the outlet.

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Elise Horne — one of the parents who attended Monday's meeting with Cracker Barrel executives — has a 9-year-old nonverbal, autistic son and said it "upset the parents" when an exec apologized "that the community felt as if the students had been discriminated against," per USA Today.

A Charles County Public Schools spokesperson didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for comment on the news of the employees' dismissal.

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