WITCHITA, Kan. – The hashtag #GiveThemLetters is blowing up on Twitter, thanks to Wichita East High School student Michael Kelley.

Kelley is a student with Down syndrome and autism who plays on the school’s special needs basketball team, and his parents bought him a varsity letter jacket after he was recognized for his participation KSN-TV reports.

But school officials told Kelley’s parents that another parent complained, and since Kelley isn’t a varsity player they banned him from wearing the jacket and gave him a sweatshirt instead.

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“Another parent, from what I am told, was upset that my son was wearing his letter jacket,” Michael Kelley’s adopted mother, Jolinda Kelley, told the news site.

“Teachers told the parents they would prefer he not wear the letter on his jacket,” East High School Principal Ken Thiessen said.

Thiessen told KSN-TV the district had considered creating a path for special needs students to earn a varsity letter in the past, but opted against it.

“We have considered it, and our decision was no,” he said. “We decided it is not appropriate in our situation because it is not a varsity level competition.”

Thiessen’s comments created an uproar among parents, both in the district and online, and the story has since carried across the internet and national news outlets. One of Michael Kelley’s classmates created a Change.org petition to pressure school officials to create a way for special needs students to earn a varsity letter, which has swelled with more than 46,000 supporters.

“Wichita East High School is an amazing school in a community with a big heart, so I was surprised to find out that the school district doesn’t have a policy that ensures varsity letters can be earned for participating in special needs sports,” student Libby Hastings wrote on Change.org.

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“This broke my heart and I knew I had to do something. Michael works just as hard as I do, shows just as much passion, and loves our school deeply. He deserves to be awarded a varsity letter just as much I do.”

Former NBA player and current Chicago Bulls assistant coach Adrian Griffin also drew attention to the cause by donating a basketball signed by the entire Bulls team, a game-worn Griffin jersey, and signed Derek Rose bobblehead to auction for new basketball jerseys for Kelley’s team. Griffin is an alum of Wichita East High School.

A principal and athletic director of Kansas’ Satanta High School sent Kelley an honorary varsity letter from his school, prompting the same gesture from other school officials across the country, according to media reports.

Griffin and Jolinda Kelley appeared on Fox & Friends on Sunday to talk about the situation, and officials are expected to discuss alternative paths to a school letter at a meeting tonight.

The district superintendent, John Allison, told KSN-TV Michael plays in a Tri-County League that’s not run by the district, though the special needs students play on teams representing their schools.

But Jolinda Kelley points out that many other schools offer special needs students varsity letters for their participation; it’s just that East High School chooses not to.

“That opportunity already exists in many schools throughout Kansas and even in the 259 district,” Kelley said. “It does not exist at East High.”

Allison said the school board will hear from parents and community members about the letter policy issue tonight, and he may offer is recommendation regarding a district-wide policy.

“My recommendation at this point in time is let’s see what the Tri County League, who operates these events for our students, let’s see what their recommendations are,” he told KSN-TV.