Gooding Jt. School District 231
INSTRUCTION 2720C
Participation in Commencement Exercises
Statement of Policy
A student’s opportunity to participate in the commencement exercises of the District’s graduating class is a privilege. As such, participation in this ceremony is reserved for those members of the graduating class who have completed all of the State and local requirements for graduation before the date of the ceremony. Students who complete their requirements after the date of commencement exercises will receive their diploma at that time.
Organization and Content of Commencement Exercises During Health Emergency
The school administration shall exercise plenary control over all aspects of any graduation ceremony held within the District. The ceremony may be conducted in person in any other manner deemed safe and appropriate for the event, including but not limited to an online or virtual graduation ceremony.
School principals are encouraged to use innovative approaches to holding a ceremony which
celebrates students’ completion of high school while maintaining social distancing, avoiding the gathering of large crowds, and minimizing the touching of shared objects. The Board shall review and may approve or deny each high school’s plans for commencement exercises.
The school administration may invite graduating students to participate in high school graduation exercises according to academic class standing or class officer status. Any student who, because of academic class standing, is requested to participate may choose to decline the invitation.
Students selected to participate may choose to deliver an address, poem, reading, song, musical presentation, or any other pronouncement of their choosing. The principal shall review and approve the student’s address, poem, reading, song, musical presentation, or any other pronouncement of their choosing prior to its presentation to the audience attending the graduation ceremony to ensure that there is no conflict with the Establishment Clause found in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, The Idaho Constitution, or the laws of the State of Idaho.
Legal References: | U.S. Const. amend. I, cl. 1-2 | Free Exercise and Establishment |
Clauses of the First Amendment | ||
Id. Const. art. IX, § 6 | Religious Test and Teaching in School | |
Prohibited | ||
I.C. § 33-512 | District Trustees – Governance of Schools | |
I.C. § 33-1603 | Sectarian Instruction Forbidden |
I.C. § 67-5909 Commission on Human Rights – Acts Prohibited
Policy History: Adopted on: 9-8-2020 Revised on: Reviewed on: