Law OKs diplomas for the disabled
Chicago Tribune, published January 22, 2005
LA GRANGE -- Brittany's Law, a bill that allows disabled students to participate in high-school graduation and still have access to state-guaranteed services, was signed into law Friday by Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The law was enacted on the heels of a Tribune report in May about Brittany Booth, 18, a Lyons Township High School student with Down syndrome.
Officials at the La Grange school initially told her that accepting a diploma would signify the end of her schooling and therefore she would forfeit the right to work-training services guaranteed to disabled students through the age of 21.
Illinois State Board of Education officials previously recommended that schools give students certificates of completion instead of a diploma at graduation. But Lyons Township officials refused, saying they didn't want to treat disabled students differently.
That changed after state legislators drafted the law in June.
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