DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997              TAG: 9703130411

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: RICHMOND                          LENGTH:   54 lines

HER QUEST FOR GOLD TASSEL STIRS UP NATIONAL INTEREST IN RETARDED GIRL

The Newport News school district has been flooded with calls from national publications and television networks interested in covering the story of a mentally retarded student's efforts to be declared an honors graduate.

Laneka Webb, a senior special education student at Denbigh High School who reads at a third-grade level and can't count money, should wear a gold honors tassel at her graduation, her family contends.

Laneka has earned all A's and B's for the last three years and made Denbigh High's honor roll 11 times. But Laneka does not qualify as an honors graduate because she will receive a certificate of attendance, not a diploma. The courses are tailored to her abilities and do not earn credits toward graduation, explained Newport News public schools spokesman Patrick Finneran.

The dispute came to light in a story by the Daily Press of Newport News. The Associated Press carried the story nationally, and other national media, including CBS's ``48 Hours'' and USA Today, began calling the school.

``We had a lot of calls from other media. We heard from colleagues in other states who read about this issue,'' Finneran said. Reporters called from New York, Los Angeles and Canada, he said.

Finneran has spent time explaining to journalists the intricacies of and misconceptions about the grading system as it applies to special education students.

Only about two-thirds of students who go through the special education courses earn diplomas. Laneka is among the one-third who earn ``certificates of attendance'' because of the low-level curricula they take, school officials said.

Students who make all A's and B's automatically make Denbigh's honor roll, regardless of the level of courses they take. To qualify as an honors graduate, however, students must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0.

Laneka's average was 2.75, conceded her mother, Judith Webb. Even though she brought home grades no lower than a B, the grading system was weighted to reflect the lower levels of skill necessary for the courses she took.

``Laneka, up until this point, was not judged on a mainstream level,'' she said. ``Everything was on her level. . . .This can't be ruled on by the book, it has to be ruled on by the heart.''

But even a school district advisory committee composed mainly of parents of special education students agrees with school officials.

``Although the Webbs are very powerful advocates for their child, this particular academic honor is one for which she is not qualified,'' said David R. Heddle, chairman of the committee and the father of an autistic son.

Judith Webb said she plans to ask the School Board to rule on the request at its March 19 meeting. ILLUSTRATION: [Photo]

Laneka Webb has gotten top grades at Denbigh High School in courses

that do not earn any credits toward graduation.

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