Teacher refuses to give failing student a passing grade after he keeps coming to class with his uncharged iPad and no ability to take notes

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Mar 30, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

Who would have thought that having a fully charged iPad would be the key to getting this kid to pass a class?

This middle school teacher recently noticed that one of her students had not been taking notes during class. His excuse? The iPad that he must use to take notes was out of battery. The student was on an individualized education plan, so the last thing the teacher wanted was to force him to take notes manually and stir up trouble, so she let it slide this one time.

Then, it happened again in the next class and the class after that one, and so on. Each time, the student would claim that his iPad needed to be charged, but he didn't have the proper charger at school to remedy the situation. Instead, he just sat there, day after day, staring into the abyss. Before long, his grades began to take a nosedive.

Naturally, with parent-teacher conferences coming up, the teacher prepared for the kid's parents to demand an explanation for why their precious son was failing the class. It seems that they were ready to prove that the teacher was unwilling to accommodate his educational needs, but that was far from the truth. Thankfully, the teacher came prepared for this meeting.

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  • A mother and her son walk into a school.
    via Unsplash+ (Andrej Lišakov)

    A mother and her son walk into a school.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Your kid isn’t failing because I’m failing to meet their Individualized Education Program. They’re failing because their device is [out of power]. Every. Single. Day

    Firstly (because I'm sure I'll get this question regardless): "whY DONT YOu printT it off on PAper": 1.
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  • Admin wants everything on 1. canvas because "equity" 2. We have two printers for 100 teachers.
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  • They break every other day. 3. 1.1 have s t to do I need parents to understand something, because I feel like I'm losing my mind.
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  • Yes I know your child has an IEP. I follow it. I honor it. I provide the accommodations.
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  • But your child is not failing because I'm not not following their IEP. Your child is failing because they come to class (consistently) with a d d device.
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  • No device, no access to assignments, no way to read, write, or submit anything. Just vibes
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  • And then somehow... this becomes my fault? I cannot teach a blank screen. I cannot magically upload assignments. into a d d device.
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  • A teacher in a blue suit sets up her classroom.
    via Unsplash+ (Andrej Lišakov)

    A teacher in a blue suit sets up her classroom.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I cannot override the laws of electricity. At a certain point, this is not an "education issue." This is "please plug in your child's device at night." I promise you: charging the iPad would do more for their grade right now than any accommodation ever could.
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  • Let this story serve as yet another indicator of how much unnecessary nonsense teachers have to put up with on a regular basis. This instructor knew full well how to accommodate the kid's needs, but it was the student who had no desire to meet her where she was. As we all know, you can't force the horse to drink the water.

    No matter how defensive the parents got, they really could not argue with their son's ridiculous excuse for not learning anything. In 2026, anyone who needs an iPad to take notes can take it upon themselves to charge their own devices prior to needing them.

  • CranberryBauce Your kid is failing because they're lazy and all parents do is make excuses. "She's tired," "They're hungry," "She is having a bad day." Doesn't matter. Show up and work.
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  • Emergency-Pepper3537 Original Poster's Reply This too. I've done all I can to ensure they have access, this is legit on the parents
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  • No_Macaron_5029 Is the IEP related to ADHD that this kid inherited from their parents, whose ADHD is causing them to forget to plug the device in? I tutor a number of ADHD kids. The only way you'll avoid having to baby the ADHD parents, too, is to hope that the ADHD kid is adopted...
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  • Emergency-Pepper3537 Original Poster's Reply I snorted reading your last sentence
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  • Seagullox Chromebooks are trash, just give kids paper.
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  • Emergency-Pepper3537 Original Poster's Reply And I agree if it wasn't for some of the points I already made in my post.
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  • sk613 I had to tell a parent "I can't provide her accommodations if she can't be bothered to show up to my class"
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  • Emergency-Pepper3537 Original Poster's Reply This is gonna rub people the wrong way, but you are absolutely right
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  • TemporaryCarry7 And they refuse to bring a charger
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  • Emergency-Pepper3537 Original Poster's Reply Bingo
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  • GDitto_New I had a kid with an IEP who failed an entire school year because he refused to do any assignments. Mind you, I was teaching Spanish, requiring listening and speaking, responding to a video... Parent wanted us to print everything out. I had an actually very nice conference with that parent with no admin, and we determined he could learn to print it all out at home. Case manager also supported us with that we have better things to do than print out listening assignments for a kid who ha
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  • Square_Traffic 7338 This is exactly why our district switched back to devices stay at school
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