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Letter to Governor DeWine regarding high school graduation
State Senator Stephen Huffman
Governor DeWine: At your press conference on Tuesday, April 28th, you stated the following concerning high school graduation:
“Everything always comes back to distance. As far as I’m
concerned, if the schools can figure out how to properly distance, they
can certainly hold graduation. It is up to the school. It is driven by
how many students they have, what facilities they have, etc. It has to
be well thought out. Some schools with large numbers of students
probably won’t be able to hold them. ODE did put out guidance, I didn’t
see it go out, but it is consistent with the things we’ve been saying
recommending not having graduation. We would have to clarify that
through the department. If we can figure out a way to do it safely,
that might be an ok thing to do.’
The following day, you stated that there was a confusion about
graduation and you would not allow graduation ceremonies with more than
ten people. You never explained what the confusion was; it
appeared very plainly to nearly everyone that you would not allow high
school graduation ceremonies to be held in any sort of modified, yet
traditional fashion. I and others have asked you to do what you
have done with other aspects of opening up Ohio and appoint a task
force to give you and the Department of Health recommendations on how
graduation could properly be done in Ohio. I have heard from many
schools, and some have a plan to use venues such as the Schottenstein
Center or the University of Dayton Arena. These venues hold over 10,000
people, so it seems like it would be easy to implement proper social
distancing protocols there. One high school with only 21 graduates has
plans to use a neighboring school’s large football
stadium.
Instead of forming a large task force to meet, I have taken it upon
myself to discuss and take recommendations from a number of
superintendents, school personnel and local departments of health
concerning high school graduation and form a consensus on what measures
could be taken in order to afford students the opportunity to have a
traditional graduation ceremony while still promoting public health and
safety. Many things have changed in the past month, and many business
sectors of Ohio have been opening up. Soon, we will see the pools
opening up, as well as day care facilities, banquet halls, athletic
fields, and potentially even some county fairs. I see graduation as no
different than these similar activities. Many schools have pushed back
formal commencement ceremonies into June and July waiting for you to
allow high school graduations with more than ten attendants maintaining
social distance.
In no way should high school graduation be required at any school, but
schools should at least be given the opportunity to decide what is best
for their particular population. There will be challenges, but just
like all of the different aspects of opening up Ohio, the experts have
found a way to overcome the challenges of social distancing. There are
about 113,000 high school seniors graduating this year, and they
deserve to be honored for their great accomplishment. Below are
the recommendations that I have collected:
Schools limit number of guests to 2 – 4 people per graduate depending on the size of the venue
Social distancing seating that is at least 6-feet apart
Ensure enough entrances and exits to ensure safety of those that attend and avoid close contact
Wiping off podium and any speaking device between speakers
No shaking of hands, hugging/touching of the graduate
Diplomas will be placed on a table and not handed to the graduate
There is no requirement that any student attend graduation
Making available staff/teachers scattered throughout the venue to enforce and remind everyone of social distancing
Students and attendees can expect to take their temperature and if over 99.5 or have symptoms, not attend
Graduation plans are to be submitted to the local health departments for approval
Graduation plan must be voted on and approved by the local board of education
Hand sanitizer must be readily available
Schools may require masks at their discretion
Schools should strongly encourage grandparents and elderly and vulnerable to stay home
Individual graduation parties should be discouraged by the schools
Governor DeWine, I look forward to your quick response. Just as you
have done so in the other phases of opening up Ohio, you need to relax
the rule capping graduation ceremonies to ten people who maintain
social distance. To not allow high school graduation in the current
environment in Ohio would to be ignoring the over 100,000 high school
seniors and superintendents that know they can put on a socially
distant, safe high school graduation.
Sincerely,
Stephen A. Huffman
State Senator
5th District
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