Tennessee Student with Disability Sues School for Graduation Discrimination

A former student with disabilities has sued the Weakley County Board of Education, alleging discrimination and mistreatment during her time at Greenfield High School.

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Kennedy Lee, who has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and a functional neurological disorder, claims the school administration mistreated her. According to PEOPLE, Lee experienced several instances of alleged mistreatment, including being placed in a storage closet for most of her junior year due to her disability. Lee, who graduated from Greenfield High School on May 17, previously reported that she and two other people with disabilities were instructed to sit in the bleachers during the graduation ceremony.

It really hurt that I was not given the same opportunities as my other classmates. My entire high school career has not been normal, so I just wanted one night to be treated like a normal student, and that was robbed from me,” she explained. Her lawyers filed a complaint in U.S. District Court, detailing Lee’s experiences of alleged humiliation and segregation.

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The lawsuit claims that the school administration did not adhere to Lee’s 504 plan, which was intended to provide accommodations for her disability. Instead of following the plan correctly, Lee spent her junior year in a storage closet. The complaint states that the area was eventually cleaned and outfitted with cots. Additionally, Lee reportedly lacked access to non-disabled peers, extracurricular activities, and special classes and was provided with an online curriculum that differed from what her classmates were learning.

Despite considering a boycott, Lee attended the ceremony and watched her classmates file in while she walked in separately and sat in the bleachers. “After graduation, WCS created social media postings of the graduating class of 2024,” the complaint reads. “Noticeably absent, not even mentioned, were Kennedy and the other two students with disabilities.”

Lee is seeking compensatory damages, reasonable attorney’s fees, and training for school officials on the harm of segregation and the rights to reasonable accommodation.

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