Sinclaire Coffer, a 17-year-old high school student with autism, is fighting to be allowed to graduate from North Springs Charter High School in Sandy Springs, Ga.,after the state Board of Education ruled against it, WSB-TV reports.
While Coffer has passed every other portion of the state's graduation exam, he has failed the math portion five times.
"We’ve gotten a private tutor," his mother Linda Coffer told WSB-TV. "He’s taken classes that are offered by the school in summer and throughout the school year.”
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Coffer applied for a waiver which would have allowed him to graduate despite failing the exam. The state Board of Education, however, voted to deny his request.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Coffer applied for a waiver which would have allowed him to graduate despite failing the exam. The state Board of Education, however, voted to deny his request.
Still, the student's family maintains that he is unable to pass the math portion of the exam due to his diagnosis, rather than a lack of hard work.
"Once he starts it, and he learns it, he can do it. But when you walk away, he forgets the steps," Coffer's mother told Fox 5 Atlanta.
Newscore reports that Georgia recently changed a law to require all students pass the math exam in order to graduate. However, those changes will not go into effect until next year. Meanwhile, Coffer's family has not been given a reason for the board's decision.
