Online Petition to Allow Student with Autism to Participate in Marcy Elementary Graduation

There is a Change.org petition going around on social media for a young man named Joseph. Joseph is autistic and his school, Marcy Elementary, has decided it was best to exclude him from the Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony. Joseph's aunt Denise started the petition to get her nephew included in the ceremony with everyone else.

According to Denise's petition, Joseph's mother received a letter from the school stating that they feel Joseph should not be included in the ceremony with the other children. Apparently, the school would prefer him to help greet people at the door. The Change.org petition also states,

 It looks like the school decided it would just be easier to exclude the special needs child altogether. What a shame that the children there are learning how NOT to celebrate differences and include everyone! Joseph should be allowed to celebrate his successes in school just as much as the other children!

Do you feel that the school should make the proper accommodations to include Joseph in the graduation ceremony? You can let your voice be heard and sign the petition by clicking here! No student should feel excluded from anything based on his or her needs. Now of course there is two sides to every story, but ultimately the goal is to make sure this child doesn't feel excluded.