Graduation Ceremonies and Activities

San Francisco Unified School District

Board Policy 5127

Graduation Ceremonies and Activities

 

 

This Board Policy applies to the San Francisco Unified School District and the County Office of Education.

 

Graduation ceremonies shall be held to recognize those students who have earned a diploma by successfully completing the required course of study, satisfying District standards, and passing any required assessments.  The Governing Board believes that these students deserve the privilege of a public celebration that recognizes the significance of their achievement and encourages them to continue the pursuit of learning throughout their lives.

 

(cf. 6011 – Academic Standards)

(cf. 6143 – Courses of Study)

(cf. 6146.1 – High School Graduation Requirements)

(cf. 6146.4 – Differential Graduation and Competency Standards for Students with Disabilities)

 

Invocations, prayers, or benedictions shall not be included in graduation ceremonies.  The school or District shall not sponsor other ceremonies or programs for graduates that include prayer.

 

(cf. 1330 – Use of School Facilities)

(cf. 5145.2 – Freedom of Speech/Expression)

 

Honors and Awards

 

To honor superior academic achievement, graduation ceremonies may include recognition of valedictorian(s) and salutatorian(s).  Valedictorian(s) and salutatorian(s) shall be selected based on established criteria and procedures that use multiple measures of academic performance.

 

(cf. 5121 – Grades/Evaluation of Student Achievement)

 

The Superintendent or designee shall identify other school-sponsored awards which may be given during graduation exercises. A separate awards program may be held to recognize graduating students receiving other school and non-school awards.

 

(cf. 5126 – Awards for Achievement)

 

Conduct at Graduation Ceremonies

 

Any student participating in a graduation ceremony shall comply with District policies and regulations pertaining to student conduct.

 

(cf. 5131 – Conduct)

 

The Superintendent or designee may require graduating students to wear ceremonial attire, such as cap and gown, at the ceremony.

 

Students may wear traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance at the graduation ceremony. (Education Code 35183.1)

 

Any graduating student who has completed basic training and is an active member of any branch of the United States Armed Forces may, at his/her option, wear his/her military dress uniform at the ceremony.  (Education Code 35183.3)

 

Disciplinary Considerations

 

Promotion ceremonies are an important rite of passage and a much-valued ceremony for both students and their extended families.  Therefore, schools must utilize a uniform and equitable process prior to resorting to exclusion of a student from the promotion ceremony due to disciplinary concerns.

 

Due Process Required

1. Students and families must receive advance written notice of the circumstances that will lead to exclusion from the promotion ceremony no later than the end of the first week of the spring semester prior to graduation; AND
2. The school site should only resort to exclusion from the promotion ceremony in the following circumstances:

• The student’s presence would pose a reasonable fear of danger to persons at the promotion ceremony or of disruption of the ceremony.  This requires a specific articulable basis for this fear, and not just a history of generally disruptive behavior or past violation of school rules.  For example (a) student engages in dangerous or threatening behavior proximate to the ceremony—danger and threat is “fresh”; or (b) student makes a specific threat to harm a person at the ceremony or specific threat to disrupt the ceremony; or (c) other specific facts support fear that student will pose a danger to persons at the ceremony.

OR

• The student has accumulated the number of behavior violations as identified in the school’s advance written notice, AND the school has written documentation of repeated interventions attempted during the last semester before the ceremony that have failed to bring about an improvement in behavior.

Notice of Exclusion

 

If an administrator makes the decision to exclude a student from the promotion ceremony, the following steps must be taken:

1. The decision must be made in writing and delivered personally to the student and to the parent/guardian via email or the address in the student’s file;
2. The decision must include the date that the family was provided with the school’s notice of the circumstances that could lead to prohibition from participating in the promotion ceremony;
3. The decision must give students/family notice of the reasons for the student’s exclusion from the ceremony; and the alternative interventions that were attempted if applicable;
4. The decision must provide the student and family with information about the appeal process.

Appeal Process

 

The decision to exclude a student from the promotion ceremony must be appealable to an administrator outside of the school.  Schools may have their own internal panel/process to review exclusion decisions prior to the external appeal, but the final appeal will be reviewed and determined by the Superintendent or designee.  The notice of the right to appeal must include the following information:

1. The timelines for when the internal school panel must decide the appeal (if there is an internal appeal); and/or
2. The deadline to submit the external appeal to the Superintendent or designee.

(cf. 5125.2 – Withholding Grades, Diploma or Transcripts)

(cf. 5144 – Discipline)

(cf. 6161.2 – Damaged or Lost Instructional Materials)

 

Students Who Have Not Completed District Graduation Requirements

 

Students with disabilities who have been awarded a Certificate of Completion under the criteria described in BP 6146.1 shall be eligible to participate in any gradation ceremony and any school activity related to graduation in which a graduating student of similar age without disabilities would be eligible to participate. The right to participate graduation ceremonies does not equate a certificate of completion with a high school diploma. 

 

 At the discretion of the Superintendent or designee, a student who will complete graduation requirements during the summer may be allowed to participate in graduation exercises without receiving a diploma. When the requirements have been satisfied, a diploma shall be sent to the student.

 

 

 

 

Legal Reference:

EDUCATION CODE

35183.3   Graduation ceremonies; military dress uniforms

38119   Lease of personal property; caps and gowns

48904   Liability of parent or guardian; withholding of grades, diplomas, transcripts

51225.5   Honorary diplomas; foreign exchange students

51410-51412   Diplomas

COURT DECISIONS

Cole v. Oroville Union High School District, (2000, 9th Cir.) 228 F.3d 1092

Santa Fe Independent School District v. Doe, (2000) 530 U.S. 290

Lee v. Weisman, (1992) 505 U.S. 577

Sands v. Morongo Unified School District, (1991) 53 Cal. 3d 863

Lemon v. Kurtzman, (1971) 403 U.S. 602

 

Management Resources:

WEB SITES

California Department of Education, High School: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/

 

 

Please note that compare references, or “cf”, refer to CSBA model policies and do not necessarily indicate that the San Francisco Unified School District has adopted the referenced policy.