A 12-year-old girl diagnosed with leukemia was kicked out of her Michigan catholic school because she missed too many days while she was receiving cancer treatments.
"I didn't to anything wrong, but they still got rid of me," Rose McGrath, of Battle Creek, told WWMT.
Rose began attending St. Joseph Middle School less and less ever since she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in 2012. She attended 32 full school days this year.
The school tried accommodating Rose by reducing her workload. But last week, officials sent home a letter explaining her academic performance was lacking and no more could be done.
"These were extraordinary circumstances, but so many accommodations were made we felt eventually it became a point where we really had to help Rose, by being able to make sure that she was getting the assistance that she needed and to learn," said Father John Fleckenstein, of Battle Creek Area Catholic Schools.
The girl's parents are outraged with the district, where Rose has attended school her entire life, for dismissing their daughter for being sick.
"It's not like she's out at the mall having fun, she's in her bed, sick with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain. She's not having fun, she's sick. She'd be at school if she could," Barbara McGrath, Rose's mother, told WWMT.
Her daughter is also devastated by the blow. School provided a safe haven during the most difficult time of her life.
"When I'm at home, I'm sick, I don't feel well; no one else does that. But when I'm at school I'm like everyone else," Rose told the station.
Though the school tried accommodating Rose, who is now recovering after completing her treatments, her dad Tom McGrath described it as "woefully inadequate for a child with such a serious diagnosis."
Rose's parents have filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights and are waiting for a reply.
When asked for comment, Father Fleckenstein said privacy reasons prevent him from giving a statement.
