June 17th 2024.
Recently, there was an unfortunate incident at Sprayberry High School in Marietta, Georgia that caused a lot of distress for one family. On May 25th, during the school's annual commencement ceremony, a student with disabilities, Ashlynn Rose Rich, was not allowed to participate and receive her diploma like the rest of her classmates. This understandably upset her mother, Linda Ramirez, who had been looking forward to seeing her daughter walk across the stage and graduate.
Ramirez only found out about this exclusion when she arrived at the ceremony and noticed that the special education students were not included in the official graduation proceedings. Instead, they were asked to walk across the stage and exit through a different hallway, missing out on the rest of the ceremony. Ramirez was understandably upset and questioned why they had even come to the ceremony in the first place.
She shared her disappointment, stating, "Everybody that had a special needs child got up to go collect their kids. And during this, the commencement ceremony is in full; it's happening. So, our kids missed it all. They didn't get the turn of the tassel. They didn't get to see the opening speeches, and they didn't get that big walkout." This was a big moment for Rich, and she deserved to experience it like her peers.
After the incident, the superintendent of Cobb County School District, Chris Ragsdale, personally apologized to the family. He acknowledged that the decision to exclude the special education students was made with good intentions, but it was ultimately a mistake. "While I cannot say more about the experience of the Rich family at the Sprayberry ceremony, I can say this: first, on behalf of the district, I apologize to Ashlynn and her family. It does not matter how well-intentioned it appears a decision was made; it should have been a parental decision," Ragsdale stated at a board meeting on June 13.
Rich also had the opportunity to share her thoughts and feelings about the incident with the board members. She expressed that she felt mistreated and discriminated against for not being able to participate in the graduation ceremony with her classmates. "I felt mistreated and discriminated against because I was not allowed to sit with my classmates. Many of my friends are regular students, and it made me sad that I couldn't sit with them and experience graduation together," she explained.
The school district also released a statement addressing the issue and clarifying that families of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) usually get to decide how they want to celebrate graduation. However, in this case, that choice was not given to Rich and her family. The statement read, "Some Cobb families choose a full graduation ceremony; some choose to protect their child from noise, stimuli, or attention in a variety of ways. Every child's needs are discussed individually and confidentially, so that the specific needs of our special needs students are met. This year, although initial reports indicated those choices were offered, we discovered they were not offered to one student at Sprayberry High School. Our expectation, and the parents', was not fully met."
While Ramirez and her daughter have accepted the apology, the district has also initiated an investigation into the incident. It is a reminder that we must always prioritize inclusivity and ensure that every student is given equal opportunities to participate in important events like graduation.
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