Michael Kelley, a Kansas special needs student at Wichita East High School, tried to wear his varsity letter jacket to school, but when he got there, he was asked to remove it.
A special needs student was denied a letter jacket by his high school
The school claims the student wasn’t competing at a varsity level.
Kelley, who has Down syndrome and autism, competes in extra-curricular basketball for special needs students. His mother, Jolinda Kelley, bought him an official Wichita East varsity letter jacket and was surprised to learn that school officials asked him to take it off. She told KSN, “Another parent, from what I am told, was upset that my son was wearing his letter jacket.” Kelley was given a sweatshirt to wear instead of the jacket.
When principal Ken Thiessen was asked whether they would turn over their decision, he said, “We have considered it, and our decision was no. We decided that is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity level competition.”
KSN pushed the school board to reconsider their stance on giving varsity letters to special needs students. Though no changes has been made yet, they’re continuing to follow the story.
Jolinda Kelley respects the school’s decision, but hopes that the school board will change the rule. “It’s not just my son. It’s every student that was out there last night. It’s every student that’s there on Fridays that plays their hardest and to the best of their capability regardless what that is.”
(via Yahoo!)
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