Why Did School Bar Autistic Student From Graduation?
It's the graduation that wasn't for one high school student.
Julian Nanez, an autistic student at Sam Houston High School, in Arlington, Tex., was not allowed to participate in the school's graduation. What's worse is his family did not know he wouldn't take part until just a few short hours before the ceremony.
Julian's mother, Maria, told CBS Dallas-Fort Worth:
I called one of his teachers and she basically told me that he wasn’t going to walk. Basically, she said she didn’t have faith in him."
Julian is supposed to remain in school until he's 21, but he had been granted permission to walk with this year's class and even showed up at a rehearsal, while plans had been made to walk with alongside his brother during the actual graduation.
Maria thinks Julian may have been "fussy" during the rehearsal. Even so, she claims there was no sign her son was going to be yanked from the graduation. His name also did not appear in the program, merely another hard-to-swallow pill for a student with special needs.
A school spokeswoman said the names of several students didn't appear in the program due to a "series of miscommuncations" and "a misunderstanding about a meeting location prior to the ceremony prevented him [Julian] from being able to participate."
The school principal has apologized for the mixup and offered to let Julian walk in next year's graduation, which his mother said he plans to do.