It's Saturday, May 25 2020, for Kennesaw, Georgia. And I just finished watching my oldest daughter graduate from high school. Time to turn the tassels was my greatest joy that I asked you in your tassel. It's a proud moment, one that me and my family will remember for a lifetime. But for one graduate, this moment, did not go as expected. This is thinking cluesive. I'm Tim Vegas. And after a quick break, you'll hear from Ashlynn rich, a young woman who happens to have Down Syndrome and her story of inclusion and exclusion.
My name is Ashton rose, which
well congratulations on graduating.
Thank you so much.
I'm here with Ashlynn. Rich and her mom Linda Ramirez in the dining room of their home in Marietta, Georgia, just a few minutes away from where I live. Can you tell me about graduation day? What was that like for you very
upset about that? Because I didn't say with my peers.
So you had you had friends that you wanted to sit with? Yes,
during the ceremony? classmates?
And why didn't use it? But then I
didn't sit with them make us I will send him
back they'll see your teacher said that you couldn't sit with your peers that you had to go to a hall and what did you do in the hall?
Sit there forever?
Did you not do anything?
Sit there forever. Before I was my turn in a stage get my diploma? Have you
were in the hall the whole time? Yes,
back hall. And the whole time Ashlyn
graduated with honors earn the title of scholar athlete for participating in the school's swim team and is already a small business owner of pop Queen baked goods. So that means you missed. You missed all the speeches
to my castle, my hat, right?
You miss turning your tassel at the end, right. So when you were in the hall, and then you went that they called your name, you went across and got your diploma and then you went back to the hall?
Yes. And and it's taught to live go outside.
Okay, and then. And then how did it end? Like, what did you do when it was all over?
I'm confused and upset. That's
how you're feeling? Yes. Okay, so Ashlyn. After you got your diploma, you left the building. Yes. And what did you do outside the building?
Waiting for? My family gets in the hub side.
Oh, well, so you started at the beginning. So that was like a good hour and a half.
No, we had to exit
the building. That's Linda Ramirez, Ashland mom, because
they were waiting outside. We did not see the graduation either. Oh,
okay. Okay. So actually, I'm going to ask your mom a few questions. Okay. So what I'm hearing is Ashlynn, got her diploma, and then was escorted outside the building. And then you went outside as well.
When I had seen her in the hallway. My heart sank. And I did text her teacher and I are called her teacher. And I said, where are they going to be sitting and I was told that she is not sitting with the general education students, that you would be entering the stage from the right, which they did. And then I was told that they would go back to their seats, and I'm like, we're on their seats. So they did miss the beginning ceremony. Then they missed watching their peers graduate. They miss the tassel turn. They miss the closing ceremonies, and they also miss the big walk out of proud feeling. I mean, that to me, was one of the best feelings of my life that I had. finished it. And she didn't get that I witnessed my other four children have a normal graduation. This was not normal,
being in the hallway, right and not getting to be with your peers. How did that make you feel?
Upset? Just upset.
If you could do it over again, would you want to be with your peers?
Yes.
This isn't the first time Ashlynn and her family have felt excluded. Linda told me that she has been fighting for Ashland to be fully included in general education classrooms with support across two districts in metro Atlanta. But in her most recent placement, having the hardest time, they
just kept wanting to push her out. They kept blaming behavior. They kept blaming, she's not staying on grade level, they kept blaming that, that she's, she's lacking and falling behind. None of that matters with with IDA or, or FAPE, or any of that she does not have to be on grade level to stay in full inclusion. The best thing for our kids is full inclusion so they can model after our typical peers. The world is typical. It's not special needs and it's not keeping them behind closed doors. This is their world too. So I wanted her to stay in full inclusion. But every time I was in college, I seem to have lost the battle with every IEP, things got taken away, things got worse, everything I asked for just kind of faded away, and you get worn down. I did this for 22 years. So by the time I got high school, I was just an after COVID It was hard to fight. I was going broke with lawyers. I was going broke with advocates that got outrageously priced. So you know, I spent a lot of money trying to get her something that she never got slowly by the time she hit graduation. So it was very upsetting that I didn't see her graduate the way she should have graduated. Yeah.
Yeah. So like, this was just,
you know, this was my frosting on the cake. Exactly. So yes, it's been a struggle. And it was a very, very upsetting not to see her graduate and sit and be called alphabetically with her peer group. That's just wrong. So Ashley, sorry. No, I think like, fired up. Yeah, you're gonna be fired up tomorrow night. So
yeah, I'm meeting with Ashlynn and Linda the day before the regularly scheduled school board meeting at their district. And they're both planning to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting. Let's talk about tomorrow. So what's the plan for tomorrow? Because you are going to go to the board meeting.
Yes. So tomorrow, I'm going to try to head down there about five o'clock. I do have to work. But I'm going to take some time off my head down there. Ashley and I are going to head down there. We both have our speeches prepared her since just about a minute and 30. So she's good. She's been practicing. My speech is a type two. I'm gonna have to drop some or miss some words as I'm talking fast. But I'm excited about going. I I have a feeling we have a big following. To be there.
I have an idea. Let me know what you think. Would you could you practice your speech with me recording it?
Yeah, that's, that's a great practice.
You're ready, okay. Because I am not able not able to be there tomorrow. I'm gonna have to listen to it on the to watch it on the recording. But if you have the speech, you could practice it now. And if you get it right now, what do you think? You're gonna get it? Okay. All right, cool. Here's Ashland speech. And I'm going to mix in the audio from the board meeting the next day. But if you asked me, she nailed it.
Evening, members of the board and superintendent Williamstown. My name is Adam was bench and I am here to share how I felt at my graduation. I went to graduate with my friends, but instead, I was left in a hallway on campus was my turn on stage after I felt mistreated and discriminated. against again because I was not allowed to sit with my classmates. Many of my friends were gross tenants and made me sad that I couldn't sit with them and experts graduation together being left out made me very upset. Graduation isn't special moment and I wanted to share with my all my friends just like everyone else. I don't want any other students to go what I did. Ask football to please sir, never happens again ask for training to provided for everyone include all my students, no matter where they are, so they can be credited and celebrated equally. Thank you
Danny Wilson.
Members of the board and superintendent, Superintendent Rexdale My name is Linda Ramirez mother of Ashland rich. One of the special education students denied the right to walk in the Sprayberry graduation ceremony held at KSU last month. My daughter is an honor student and a school scholar athlete. She owns her own little small business. It's called Pop Queen bake but baked goods she will go to college and she will study culinary arts. She has a lot of friends in the general and special education classrooms, and it's an integral part of Sprayberry student community. I am here to share the profound hurt and disappointment caused by these events of the recent graduation ceremony. Her exclusion was not just an oversight, it was a significant and painful moment of discrimination. She and others were segregated in a side hallway away from the celebration, only to walk across the stage for a short 32nd program. Then they were escorted out the other side of the stage to be waiting outside of the building while the other graduates were just beginning their ceremony. Graduation is a once in a lifetime event my daughter was made to feel different, separated from her peers in a moment that she had earned. The act of segregation not only hurt Ashlyn, but also sent troubling messages about how we value our students with disabilities. This is not the first time she has been excluded by Cobb. Well, Sam the district praises itself on being inclusive it is has been a fight to keep her included cop fails in inclusivity cop continues to push our kids to small group and away from inclusive education. I ask that the board and superintendent admit their wrongful actions. Because of this I have filed a discrimination complaint with the OCR. It is heartbreaking to see my child's achievement overshadowed time by exclusions time.
And then this happened
in our last graduation season, the parents of one of our students with exceptionalities at Sprayberry High School reported she was unable to participate with the rest of her class we've heard from her this evening. Understandably, this deeply concern the members of this board and the administration as well. We immediately began an investigation and as to how this could have happened. What occurred in this instance was not a failure of policy, but appears to be the decision made by an individual employee, perhaps with the best intentions that should have been made by parent without getting into personnel details it is being handled as a personnel and professional matter. That is as much as can be said about it publicly at this time. On behalf of the district, I apologize to Ashlynn and her famous
does not matter how well intentioned it appears a decision was made for a family that should have been a parental decision. Let me repeat that that should have been a parental decision. And what happened should not have happened. So Ashlynn thank you for coming to public comment tonight and we have been successful in hearing you and you have been successful in delivering your message so that every student which has who has an exceptionality will be able to take part however their family chooses Thank you.
According to reporting by the Marietta daily journal, after hearing right Rexdale apologize, Ramirez still hopes that the district will train teachers and paraprofessionals on inclusion for students with disabilities something that she said the school district has historically struggled with. This is not the first time she has been excluded by cop Ramirez said. While the district praises itself on being inclusive, it has been a fight to keep her included. Cobb fails in inclusivity. Cobb continues to push our kids to small group classes, and away from inclusive education. I just want to connect the dots for everyone who is listening. Cobb County School District was the district that I taught in before taking on the role of director of communications for the Maryland Coalition for inclusive education. So I'm well aware of their philosophy and understanding of inclusive practices. And so when this story got regional and national attention, honestly, I was scratching my head because y'all if you are upset about students being segregated from a typical graduation ceremony, let me tell you, it is standard procedure for the vast majority of schools and districts around the country, especially in Georgia for students to be placed in disability specific classrooms, where they are segregated from their typically developing peers, given low expectations and run the risk of much, much poor outcomes than students who are fully and authentically included. So while this particular district says it's not a policy failure that Ashlyn was segregated from her graduation, I would think very hard about that statement. And what kind of attitudes and beliefs are baked into a system that allows for something like this to happen?
And I encourage everyone to ask why learners with extensive support needs are being needlessly segregated in your neck of the woods, including here in my zip code. I think the silver lining for me is that it seems that when a student has the courage to speak up about their own rights, people, listen. I think there's a lesson there.
That's it for this episode of thinking inclusive, thinking inclusive is written, edited, designed, mixed and mastered by me to be ageist and is a production of the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. We'll have a few more few drops Before we officially start back in September. Until then, thanks for listening and remember, inclusion always works.
