The family of a student with Down syndrome filed a federal civil rights complaint asking, in part, for leaders in the Cobb County School District to make a public apology for excluding that student from her graduation ceremony in May.
On Thursday, the student and her family got that apology from Superintendent Chris Ragsdale.
Students with disabilities who graduated from Sprayberry High School were sequestered behind the stage, received their diplomas separately from other students and were escorted out of the ceremony before they were able to turn their tassels, the Marietta Daily Journal reported.
One of those students was Ashlynn Rich. “Being left out made me very upset,” she told school board members Thursday. “Graduation is a special moment and I wanted to share with all my friends just like everyone else.”
Later in the meeting, Ragsdale said the situation is being treated as a personnel issue. The district will also make more of an effort to formalize graduation plans for students with special needs in writing ahead of time with families’ input, he said.
“On behalf of the district, I apologize to Ashlynn and her family,” Ragsdale said to applause. “That should have been a parental decision, and what happened should not have happened.”
Linda Ramirez, Ashlynn’s mother, said after the meeting that she’s not sure whether the family will proceed with the federal civil rights complaint it filed about their experience. In addition to requesting a public apology, the family asked for training for teachers and paraprofessionals about inclusion — something that’s been a struggle for their family, and was only exemplified by the graduation ceremony.
“Her exclusion was not just an oversight — it was a significant and painful moment of discrimination,” Ramirez said at the meeting.
Other groups have recently filed civil rights complaints against the Cobb County School District related to discrimination against LGBTQ+ students and students of color, and discrimination based on shared ancestry.
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