Local

Parents fight to get diploma for son who died in his sleep

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A high school student less than three months from earning his high school diploma won’t see it after dying in his sleep in mid-March.

Philip Moore’s parents told Channel 9 he earned it and are now trying to get a diploma for him from the attended since the sixth grade.

His father said Cochrane Collegiate Academy offered a certificate, but his parents said that’s not enough.

“And I think, 'No I know he deserved that high school diploma,'” Moore's mother said. “Phillip didn’t ask to die. He had excellent grades. Never been suspended from school from kindergarten through the 12th grade.”

>> WATCH the video above as Philip Moore’s parents share the traumatic experience of losing their son two months ago as they fight to get their son a diploma.

According to Moore’s parents, school officials said he didn’t meet the requirements.

School officials put out a statement after the story aired on Thursday, saying they had offered the family an honorary diploma, but that state law and district policy prevents them from providing an actual diploma to the family.

As to how he died, Moore’s parents say they still don’t know. The results of an autopsy aren’t due back until July.