High School Senior Disenrolled, Denied Graduation After Missing Classes Due to Open-Heart Surgery

high school senior disenrolled Logan Ward Tamara Evans Clear Falls High School Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension CTEPH Clear Creek Independent School District Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act

By Lili Scott , Parent Herald May 18, 07:36 pm

Photo: (Photo : Scott Olson/Getty Images)

A high school senior was disenrolled and not allowed to graduate with his classmates this May because he missed too many days due to a critical medical episode.

Logan Ward, 19, is recovering from open-heart surgery after getting sick during a Spring Break trip to Arizona with his mother, Tamara Evans. She told ABC 13 that her son "missed so much of the last part of his senior year because of this medical incident."

However, despite his grave situation, Ward received no exemptions from Clear Falls High School. His mother said that he died almost three times during his medical ordeal.

Unfortunately, there were no options for the high school senior to take remedial classes and catch up as he recovered at home. The school had no online system in place for this particular situation.

Evans felt that disenrolling her son was a mistake, so she decided to gather thousands of signatures to help with their predicament.

Logan Ward has CTEPH

Evans launched an online petition on Charge.Org to demand that her disenrolled high school son be reinstated and allowed to graduate. The mother also detailed the whole story of her son's medical emergency.

She wrote that Ward was diagnosed with Chronic Thromboembolic Pulmonary Hypertension (CTEPH), a rare but progressive disease that causes blood clots in the lungs. Over time the scars from these clots lead to the narrowing of the blood vessels that eventually affect the heart.

According to the CHEST Foundation, patients with CTEPH require critical treatment as they could die within five years if their condition is not addressed. One of the signs of CTEPH is high blood pressure.

While CTEPH may happen to anyone, the risk factors are higher for people with inactive or sedentary lifestyles, those who had surgery, and those who smoke or take estrogen pills. The condition may also be exacerbated by cancer.

In Ward's case, his mother said that the blood clot blocked 100 percent of his pulmonary artery. His right lung wasn't performing well, while his heart's right side was descending to heart failure.

Following several medical procedures, Ward was sent back home to recover. The mother said that the school was initially agreeable to allowing him to complete his schoolwork remotely. But following a recent committee meeting, Clear Falls High School officials decided to unenroll the 19-year-old.

Evans' petition gathered more than 7,000 signatures, with some sympathizers saying that the school's decision was heartless.

Clear Falls High School Issues Statement

Following the outcry, the Clear Creek Independent School District issued a statement to acknowledge the student's "unique circumstances" and said it was not his fault to be off track for graduation. Unfortunately, the school did not state the actual reason for his graduation withdrawal, citing the Family Educational Rights to Privacy Act.

The school district made arrangements with the family and agreed to let Ward graduate if he can complete three months of schoolwork for submission by Thursday, May 19. If he beats the deadline, he will be able to attend the graduation on Saturday, May 21.