‘Cruel for the sake of being cruel’: Florida ends certificates of school completion for disabled kids, parents horrified

You know that animated gif of Bugs Bunny sawing off Florida and letting it float into the ocean? I’m starting to think we need to make that a reality. This week, we already saw the despicable destruction of the memorial to the Pulse nightclub massacre victims, with the state painting over it at night and going on to mock the dead.

Now, in what feels like a regression to something out of the 19th century, the Florida Board of Education has made the mystifyingly cruel decision to end certificates of completion for students with disabilities who attend K-12 schools.

The certificates gave students with severe disabilities who would be unable to complete coursework a lifeline for future employment, essentially proving to employers that they would be able to handle further training or jobs. Under the new plan, they leave school without any formal recognition of their education at all.

As just one example, Amy Van Bergen is the mother of Will, who has Down Syndrome. Will now works two jobs at a law office, all thanks to his certificate of completion showing his employer that he could handle the work. Van Bergen said:

“Without that certificate, they are potentially going to lose eligibility to all sorts of opportunities after high school, whether that’s even taking a college placement test or pursuing developmental or vocational programs.”

She also pointed out that if disabled students won’t receive any formal recognition they attended school, then why should they bother seeking an education at all?

“The whole dissolution of certificates of completion absolutely disproportionately harms students with disabilities. So rather than helping bridge that educational disparity gap, it’s only going to widen it. Why on earth should these students attend school?” 

The cruelty is the point

So why would the Florida board do this? They argue that they want to set up “alternative pathways to completing a high school diploma” and that the change is to “ensure students receive appropriate support and recognition for their achievements.” But, to pretty much everyone reading this news, it just sounds like needless cruelty aimed at disabled kids:

🚨 Florida is taking away Certificates of Completion for students with disabilities.

That means thousands of kids could finish 12+ years of school with nothing to show for it—no diploma, no certificate, no recognition.

This isn’t “raising standards.” It’s erasing achievement. pic.twitter.com/BL2k3wYgjY

— If Not Us (@IfNotUsOfficial) August 22, 2025

This is an unwarranted and twisted decision.

Certificates of completion are designed to recognize the hard work of students with disabilities, especially when they are unable to earn their high school diploma because of their disability.https://t.co/AMynP4rXhi

— Rep. Frederica Wilson (@RepWilson) August 23, 2025

It's all about the cruelty in DeSantis's Florida, and if folks don't see the shades of Germany in the 30's in this, they simply refuse to, and/or they support it.
Sick freaks down there really do hate everyone, eh? https://t.co/FrnliRlQ1j pic.twitter.com/zF892vifIx

— SoMuchEnough😒 (@Dortles) August 22, 2025

These are dark days for America, and each little story like this underlines how the nation is being hit by the equivalent of a death-by-a-thousand-cuts, with rights that people fought for generations to get swept away at the stroke of some MAGA goon’s pen. Controversy about this is brewing: here’s hoping they reconsider.