A California teenager burst into tears as she pleaded with her local school board not to send her autistic friend to a new school.
Footage was shared this week from an emotional Laguna Beach School District meeting, where the community confronted the board’s decision to send 15-year-old autistic teenager Sailor Jones to another district.
The decision came after specialists concluded Sailor’s special needs were too complex for Laguna Beach High School to handle, and district officials said they had no choice but to find him another school based on the experts’ findings.
But the move sparked a backlash as the community insisted Sailor would be isolated and anxious moving away from her friends and the district she grew up in.
Sailor’s friend, Leah Turner, 13, cried as she pleaded with district officials to keep her “best friend” at school with her.
California student Leah Turner burst into tears as she pleaded with her local school board not to send her autistic best friend to another district.
While Sailor (pictured) was urged by her friends to stay in the district, her friend described her as “one of the nicest and happiest people.”
“Sailor is one of the nicest, happiest people I know,” Leah said through tears.
“She’s my best friend and we have so many memories together. It’s so sad not being able to see her every day.”
The move has been particularly heartbreaking for Sailor’s family, as her sister Presley told the board she had been dreaming of spending her high school years with Sailor.
“In my head, I always thought about it,” Presley said, reports the Orange County Record.
“I’ve always wanted to have my sister by my side. She would wear my polo shirt, go to football games with me and be part of the student body.”
As Presley prepares to enter her senior year, she said Sailor will think she’s “not good enough” to be with her former classmates.
Sailor’s family was greeted by about 100 other community members who showed their support at the meeting and called on Laguna Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) trustees and Superintendent Jason Viloria to intervene.
Specialists determined that Sailor Jones, 15, (left, with her family), would have to change high schools because of her special needs, leaving her family and friends heartbroken.
And while the district says the decision is out of its hands, some have accused officials of hypocrisy.
Since Sailor was already part of the LBUSD system, all of her friends already go to Laguna Beach High, having recently graduated together from nearby Thurston Middle School.
Her father, Stuart Jones, said she sleeps with her yearbook and repeatedly watches her recent high school graduation ceremony, while criticizing the school for its apparent double standard.
“Their website says, ‘All students, every day.’ It doesn’t say, ‘Some students on certain days,'” she said at the meeting.
Jones added that the district previously built a statue in memory of local volunteer Skipper Carillo, who had learning difficulties and became a beloved member of the community while helping out at Laguna Beach baseball and little league games.
“They built a statue of Skipper right in front of the library so our community could bring our kids to the library and talk about the value that people who walk and talk differently bring to the community,” Stuart Jones said.
“That’s what makes us different. So when you tell me there’s no place in this city for my son, I’m telling you that you’re wrong. And these people are here to tell you that you’re wrong.”
In response, LBUSD President Jan Vickers said the speakers were heard, but stressed she could not intervene if she wanted to.
“We’re not hard-hearted,” he said. “We don’t make these decisions, but we can bring ideas and bring staff back to the Jones family.”
Leah Turner, 13, cried as she pleaded with district officials to keep her “best friend” at school with her.
The decision came after specialists concluded Sailor’s special needs were too complex for Laguna Beach High School (pictured) to handle.
LBUSD Superintendent Jason Viloria insisted he heard the community’s pleas and said the decision is “not the end of the story.”
Sailor’s parents said their efforts to send her to Laguna Beach High School have been exhausting and anxiety-provoking, as they’ve tried to navigate a complex certification program.
But Sailor’s needs were assessed differently by a team of specialists, including a school psychologist and therapists, who concluded she should be sent to El Toro High, about 10 miles away, in a different school district.
Stuart said she worries that her autistic daughter will struggle to find her place among a new group of students.
“El Toro is a big school where she doesn’t know anyone,” she said. “It has two and a half times as many students enrolled. She will attend general education classes like she would here.”
Superintendent Viloria said that despite the pleas, the district is “not in a position to dictate anything to the Independent Educational Plan team that evaluates every student who qualifies for special education.”
Viloria concluded that he understood the community’s passionate campaign for Sailor, as he himself had previously been a special education teacher.
“I appreciate you sharing your feelings,” he said.
“It’s really difficult when we’re a school district and we can’t say anything and defend ourselves in the public eye. If we can’t meet the needs that the IEP team has determined, that’s not the end of the story. We’ll be in discussions.”
