Abbott greenlights outdoor graduation ceremonies.
Ceremonies can begin in June, paving way for local school districts to honor seniors
Texas schools can hold outdoor graduation ceremonies starting in June, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday, opening up an option that few Houston-area public school districts typically employ to celebrate seniors.
In announcing the change with Abbott, Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said that school administrators will be required to enforce social distancing standards between families at outdoor ceremonies this summer. For now, indoor ceremonies remain banned amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We’re excited to create guidance that does maintain health and safety for all of our community members and all of our participants, while also honoring students and celebrating the achievements they have made,” Morath said.
Public and private schools across Texas have grappled over the past several weeks with planning for events celebrating the Class of 2020, which is expected to approach nearly 100,000 students in greater Houston.
The vast majority of Houston’s largest districts have indoor celebrations on the calendar hosted at campuses, event centers and stadiums across the region. Many also announced backup plans, often involving virtual ceremonies.
Tuesday’s announcement, however, provides the green light for a handful of districts that tentatively scheduled outdoor graduations, including Humble and Spring ISDs.
State officials have not hinted publicly at whether they plan to reverse the indoor ban in the coming weeks, prompting some districts to consider Tuesday the option of outdoor events.
In a statement, Cy-Fair ISD officials said administrators in the region’s second-largest district “will be reviewing the feasibility of outdoor in-person ceremonies and will provide more information as soon as it is available.” The district’s current plans involve graduation events at its indoor
Berry Center.
In Spring Branch ISD, officials will begin discussions via Zoom “about how we might consider graduation ceremonies in line with the new information we received,” Superintendent Jennifer Blaine wrote in a public message. Spring Branch’s indoor Don Coleman Coliseum currently is scheduled to host the district’s graduation events.
“On this call, it will be my direction that our teams work as fast as we can, and only as slow as we must, to consider how we can provide an in-person graduation for the Class of 2020 based on Gov. Abbott’s executive order,” Blaine said.
In Humble and Spring, which are expected to graduate about 5,000 seniors combined, district leaders announced plans in recent weeks to potentially hold events at their football stadiums in the morning or evening hours, aiming to avoid the Houston area’s unforgiving midday heat and humidity.
Humble officials said the district’s Turner Stadium facility remains a backup option if the district cannot hold events at NRG Stadium.
The possibility of events at the 72,000-seat NRG Stadium, which has a retractable roof, remains in question. State officials did not immediately provide clarification Tuesday on whether the Texans’ home venue qualifies as an indoor or outdoor facility.
Several districts are scheduled to hold some or all of their graduation events at the stadium, including Houston, Klein, Pasadena and Clear Creek ISDs.
“We just heard the information, too, from the governor, so we’re evaluating and looking at options,” said Nina Jackson, director of marketing and public relations for NRG Park. “We hope to work something out, but this is new territory.”
Morath also said Tuesday that districts can host graduation events in which attendees remain in their vehicles, an option that none of the Houston area’s largest districts plan to employ as of now.