In-Person Graduation Ceremonies Expected For Virginia Schools

VIRGINIA — The Northam administration released preliminary guidance Wednesday for graduation ceremonies at high schools and universities this spring and summer, calling on outdoor ceremonies to be capped at 5,000 people, or 30 percent of the venue capacity, whichever is less.

Graduation events held indoors may have up to 500 people, or 30 percent of the venue capacity, whichever is less. Attendees will be required to wear masks and follow other guidelines and safety protocols to ensure proper distancing, according to the preliminary guidance.

The preliminary guidance applies to graduation ceremonies for K-12 schools, as well as colleges and universities. The guidance was reviewed by education officials and is expected to be included in an April 1 update to an amended version of the governor’s Executive Order Seventy-Two.

“We are releasing this guidance early to allow schools to begin planning for this year’s events,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said Wednesday in a statement. “While graduation and commencement ceremonies will still be different than they were in the past, this is a tremendous step forward for all of our schools, our graduates, and their families.”

Most in-person graduation ceremonies at high schools and universities across the state were canceled or postponed in 2020. In response to the cancellations, communities held their own socially distanced graduation events. U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia held an "Everybody's the Graduation Speaker" video contest for high school seniors whose in-person graduation ceremonies.

Almost a year later, the outlook for the pandemic is getting brighter. Virginia has currently administered more than 2.7 million COVID vaccine doses, and 1.8 million Virginians — 21.3 percent of the population — have received at least one dose, while more than 1 million are fully vaccinated. The statewide positivity rate is 5.4 percent.

More than two-thirds of Virginia’s public school teachers and staff have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“The acceleration of the vaccine program and the decrease in new COVID-19 cases make it safer to ease restrictions on activities like in-person graduations,” the governor’s office said.

In the preliminary guidance, the Northam administration is calling on schools to reconfigure seating areas to allow appropriate feet of physical distance between people by eliminating and closing select tables or seating areas, or by spreading them out to allow for adequate spacing.

Lines to get into stadiums or buildings should follow physical distancing guidelines, allowing for six feet of separation between families, according to the guidance.

In early February, Northam directed Virginia’s 132 school divisions to submit plans by mid-March for returning students to their classrooms. At that time, 25 school divisions, representing more than a third of Virginia’s students, had no plans for in-person learning.

All school divisions have now submitted plans to meet that goal, and a vast majority are now offering full time classroom instruction or hybrid schedules that allow students to learn in person at least part of the week.