Trustees Urged to Let Autistic Student Speak at Graduation

The quest of an autistic Royal High School senior to speak during his June 20 graduation ceremony continued Tuesday when the teen-ager and his mother urged the Simi Valley school trustees to allow his voice to be heard.

“I’m like the character in ‘Rain Man,’ but not so bad,” Ryan Rose, 17, told the board. “Tonight I’m here on behalf of all special ed students who have not had a voice at graduation ceremonies in Simi Valley. . . . We are not second-class citizens, let our voices be heard.”

Since April when a student-run selection committee chose two other graduation speakers, Ryan and his mother, Peggy Rose, have appealed to the Simi Valley Unified School District to allow Ryan to address his classmates.

The student committee said it had picked the other speakers because they were more interesting and more in line with the graduation theme.

The board did not discuss the Roses’ comments or take any action on the issue during the Tuesday night meeting.