UPDATE: School wouldn't #LetDevanSpeak, now valedictorian can't walk at graduation



LODI — Devan Solanki, the Ivy League-bound valedictorian at Lodi High School, says school officials have plotted against him - first by stripping him of the opportunity to deliver the graduation speech, then by suspending him, and finally, by requiring that he undergo a psychiatric evaluation before he can return to school.

About 90 students held a rally in front of Lodi High School Tuesday morning, demanding that school administrators reverse their decision, lift the suspension and give Solanki the platform he's seeking on Tuesday, June 23, when the 2015 graduating class meets on the football field.

"The student body agreed unanimously... that Devan deserved to give the speech," said Goraz Kumar, the National Honor Society president, a junior. "When we found out that he wouldn't get a chance to give the speech, that he had to get mentally evaluated to come back to school, we all thought that was enough and we need to voice our opinion."

But administrators aren't budging, students say, and many believe officials have made an example out of Solanki for his tendency to speak out against various teachers.

His mother, Nayna, said Devan passed the psychiatric evaluation Tuesday afternoon. Still, it's unclear whether Solanki can return to school or if he'll even be able to participate in graduation, much less send off his peers.

The controversy began on June 4 when Solanki, who will attend Harvard next year to study chemical engineering, said Principal Frank D'Amico informed him that he would not be allowed to give the speech because of prior disciplinary issues.

It escalated Monday when, frustrated by the administration's decision, Solanki told his guidance counselor, "I just want to resolve this peacefully," he claims.

She interpreted it as a threat and Solanki was suspended, required to undergo a psychiatric evaluation before officials would allow him to return to school grounds, the 18-year-old senior and his mother said.

D'Amico told NJ Advance Media that he could not comment on any student personnel issues. He also declined to discuss general school policies. Superintendent Frank Quatrone did not return a request for comment and Board President Joseph Licata could not be reached Tuesday afternoon.

The Monday incident is "just an excuse for them to get me in trouble," Solanki told NJ Advance Media in an interview.

Solanki admits to having disciplinary infractions but insists they're minor - using a cell phone on one occasion, and on two separate occasions, talking back to teachers. He thinks it's his reputation for occasionally being sharp-tongued with Lodi High School staff that's led to the end-of-year graduation woes.

"I feel as though I've worked for it all these four years. It's not so much what they're doing, it's how they did it," Solanki said. "They said it's a change of policy, we've been thinking about it for a long time. If they had approached me personally and said, 'We have a problem with you giving a speech,' then it would have been very different."

Nayna Solanki said she doesn't feel the school has treated Devan fairly.

"They don't want to let him speak," she said. "I don't know why."

Although the psychiatrist determined that Solanki is no danger to himself or others and can go to school tomorrow, D'Amico still isn't allowing him on school grounds, according to his mother.

"We will see tomorrow morning what happens," she said Tuesday.

Richard Vespucci, a spokesman for the N.J. Department of Education, speaking generally, said local districts are responsible for doling out discipline based on their policies.

The Solankis can appeal the district's decision to the education commissioner, Vespucci said.

it's so sweet to see that a school can come together for a student #FreeDevan #LetDevanSpeak #LODIHIGHSCHOOL — Alex's princess (@Mulihgins) June 16, 2015

James Kleimann may be reached at jkleimann@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskleimann. Find NJ.com on Facebook. e