A Washington state special needs student who graduated with a padded 3.78 GPA is suing her school district, claiming her diploma was a “participation trophy” that propelled her into financial strain.
Makena Simonsen claimed she graduated from the Edmonds School District in Lynwood reading at first-grade level — and was handed a high school diploma that blocked her from entering a free vocational program that helps special needs grads transition to independent life, King 5 reported.
“I should have earned that diploma,” the 22-year-old former student charged.
“Not just something that really got me nowhere.”
Simonsen, who graduated four years ago, became ineligible for the district’s program due to her diploma, and was forced to enroll in a similar one at Bellevue College that costs more than $40,000 annually.
Now in her third year, she’s reportedly on track to graduate college with about $160,000 in student debt.
“By letting her kind of pass along, giving her these grades and then giving her this diploma — which shut the door on her transition services access — they actually caused her harm,” her lawyer, Lara Hruska, argued, the outlet reported.
“Her diploma was more of a participation trophy.”
Simonsen’s family is suing the district for “benevolent discrimination,” maintaining her diploma should have been withheld until she finished its vocational transition program — a decision they said wrecked her financial future.
While she believes her education left her unprepared for life after graduation, Simonsen is proud to finally be working hard and truly earning her grades, even though the journey has been more challenging.
“I feel much better about my future now than I did when I was in high school,” she said, per the outlet.
“I’m passionate about it.”
The school district denied any wrongdoing in a court filing.
The Edmonds School District did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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