Disabled Politico recently covered the story of a girl who was denied a high school diploma due to a disability which kept her from running a mile in order to complete PE requirements. Recently, Barbara Amos, the aunt of Brittany Cliett, set the record straight by sharing with the authors of this blog further information on Brittany's condition, the discrimination she faced, and how Brittany was able to achieve her goal of graduating even after her family says Lake Wales High School pulled the rug out from under the teen's graduation plans.
Brittany has Ichthyosis, a rare skin disorder. According to Ms. Amos, "Her skin flakes and falls off all the time. She itches and scratches most of the time, her feet and hands crack open, and she has very little hair and wears a ball cap most of the time." Because of her condition, Brittany cannot walk or run far in the sun, and, said Ms. Amos, she submitted a dermatologist's note stating that she would be unable to run a mile during her fitness course. The family was told that the fitness course does not accept doctor's notes in order to excuse a student from an activity.
Ms. Amos says her niece was not notified that she wouldn't get to graduate until just four days prior to the ceremony. "On Thursday morning before graduation on June 3rd, 2008, she went to school for Baccalaureate practice and was told she would not graduate because of the fitness course," said Amos. "I feel like since Brittany looks like she does and is not popular, even though she is an honor student, they just did not care about her."
Brittany didn't let the school's decision prevent her from moving forward and obtaining her diploma. She's since completed a fitness course online, said Ms. Amos, and has received her diploma. Brittany was even able to participate in a graduation ceremony despite Lake Wales High School's decision to bar her from graduating with her classmates.
"She did not have a graduation ceremony with her class, but on May the 25th at our church, Stillwater Christian Life Church in Haines, Florida, we honored our graduates. She walked down that church aisle in her cap and gown, in front of her family, church, and God, and that meant more to me than the (school's) ceremony at Bok Tower," said Beverly Amos.
