Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007 Print This | Email This

Tenn. Public Schools' Special Diploma Unfair, Student Suit Says
By TRICIA GORMAN, Andrews Publications Staff Writer

The Tennessee Department of Education discriminates against special needs and poor students by giving different diplomas to students who fail a standard assessment exam, according to a federal court lawsuit.
All public school students in Tennessee must take the "Gateway Examination" before graduating from high school. Any student who does not pass all three parts of the test does not receive a diploma.


Students with learning disabilities who pass their classes but not the assessment exam receive a "special diploma," rather than the standard certificate.
Two former students in the state's public school system are suing over the certificate in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.
They say it is discriminatory for the schools to give some students a different nonequivalent diploma that is not accepted by some colleges and employers.
The students, Latricia Wilson and Corey Robinson, seek to represent a class of thousands of current and former students.
Wilson has a mild learning disability and needs some accommodations to help her in her coursework and tests, the complaint says.
But she says no accommodations were made when she took the Gateway Exam, and she failed the math portion of the test.
Although she passed all her classes, she received a special diploma upon graduating.
Wilson says in the complaint that she has been turned down by every college she has applied to because she does not have a regular diploma.
Robinson also passed all his classes but failed the Gateway Exam and received a special diploma. Colleges and employers have rejected him also, according to the complaint.
A special diploma is not the equivalent of a standard high school diploma, the suit says, and carries with it social and economic stigmas.
No major college or employer will accept it as proof of the ability to perform at the high school level, the plaintiffs say.
Some students with special diplomas have gone on to get GEDs even though they have completed high school courses just to have some proof to offer prospective employers, the suit says.
The plaintiffs say many of the students who have passed the coursework but failed some part of the final exam have learning disabilities that could be overcome with reasonable accommodations for the exam.
The suit alleges that the Tennessee Department of Education violates the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by not providing mandatory accommodations, such as an alternative assessment test.
The defendant's failure to inform students that the special diploma is not equivalent to a standard diploma and provide the students some opportunity to object to the certificate violates the constitutional due-process guarantees of the Fifth and 14th Amendments, the suit says.
Since more affluent students are able to circumvent the assessment exam by attending private or parochial schools, they can graduate with standard diplomas.
Poorer students do not have that opportunity, in violation of the equal-protection clause of the Constitution, the plaintiffs say.
The suit seeks to stop the state from using the Gateway Exam to assess students until a less oppressive means can be found and asks the court to monitor the progress toward a new assessment.
The plaintiffs further request $60 million in damages.
To comment, ask questions or contribute articles, contact West.Andrews.Editor-AT-Thomson.com.

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Wilson et al. v. Tennessee Department of Education, No. 2:07 CV 2490, amended complaint filed (W.D. Tenn. July 26, 2007).
Class Action Litigation Reporter
Volume 14, Issue 07
08/07/2007

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