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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita woman says she was shocked when her special needs son was asked to remove his letter jacket at school.
Michael Kelley has Down syndrome and autism and participates in extracurricular special needs basketball. He is not a varsity player.
Wichita station KSN-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1bCpw8w) that his family bought him a varsity letter like the other kids wear. But the school says it's an official Wichita East High School varsity letter and Kelley is not supposed to have it.
His mother, Jolinda Kelley, said she bought her son the letter after he was recognized for participating in the special needs basketball problem.
Kelley said she was told that another parent was upset her son was wearing the letter jacket, so he was asked to take it off and was given a sweatshirt to wear instead.
Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket, said East High Principal Ken Thiessen. The school has considered giving a varsity letter to special needs students, but decided against it, he said.
"We decided that is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity-level competition," Thiessen said.
Wichita has no districtwide policy.
School board member Lynn Rogers said she would be willing to look at making a districtwide policy to make sure students are being treated fairly.
"It's not just my son," Kelley said. "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."
East High's varsity basketball team won a state championship this year, and the team will be recognized by the school board Monday.
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