“It felt like we were watching our classmates graduate rather than us graduating with them,” Kennedy Lee shares.

A student from Tennessee with disabilities has voiced her frustration after feeling her graduation experience was unfair.

Kennedy Lee shared that she and two other graduating students from Greenfield High School had to sit in the bleachers with the audience instead of joining their fellow graduates at the May 17 ceremony.

“It makes me very emotional, not just because it did happen to me, but it did happen to people that I care about,” said Lee, who has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and a functional neurological disorder. “It makes me emotional for future students who could be treated this way.”

In a statement, Weakley County Director of Schools Jeff Cupples explained that all district “graduation ceremonies are planned to ensure the safety of all participants.”

“Weakley County Schools does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, disability, national origin, gender, age, political affiliation, or beliefs,” the statement added.

Lee mentioned that until the last day of classes, she had assumed she would have a typical graduation with the rest of the students. However, her mother received a call from the principal informing them of a different plan.

“We were told we would be using a wheelchair and wouldn’t be able to walk or sit with our classmates,” Lee recalled. “Of course, my mother was very upset to hear this, and so we did what we could to challenge it.”

On May 16, during a graduation practice, Lee informed the principal that she had received a doctor’s note clearing her to walk during the event. In response, the principal said, “we’ll see how practice goes.”

“I thought this meant I would practice graduation like everyone else,” Lee explained. “But I was very wrong.”

During the practice, Lee and her friends were told to sit on the bleachers while their classmates sat in chairs. “It was degrading because we were seated looking directly at our classmates,” she said. “It felt like we were watching our classmates graduate rather than graduating with them.”

Lee was informed that they would have to sit in the bleachers for the actual ceremony and could not walk to receive their diplomas without a nurse being present. Despite all efforts, this was how the graduation played out.

Lee admitted that she considered boycotting the ceremony but ultimately chose to attend.

“It was painful not to be granted the same opportunities as my classmates. My high school career hasn’t been normal, and I just wanted one night to be treated like a regular student, but that was taken from me.”

Responding to the district’s statement, Lee said she understood the safety precaution but felt it could have been handled better. “They could have sat us with our classmates and had a nurse beside us. There was no need to segregate us from our classmates. They could have done a much better job.”

Lee hopes to raise awareness about this issue to prevent it from happening to other students. “Everyone deserves the same opportunities,” she emphasized. “Graduation is a significant event, especially for students with disabilities. It’s a big achievement, and they deserve to celebrate it just like any other student.”