Minnesota officials are recommending high schools and colleges hold virtual graduation ceremonies for the class of 2020, saying it’s safest to honor seniors by staying home during the coronavirus pandemic.
Neither indoor graduations nor ceremonies in stadiums or football fields will be allowed, according to guidance released Friday by the state departments of education, higher education and health.
“The health and safety of our students and their families will be, always, our top priority,” said Education Commissioner Mary Cathryn Ricker. “It will come as no surprise that this year’s ceremonies must look different than they traditionally do.”
Officials are recommending schools hold celebrations that keep participants at home, but they’ve also laid out guidelines for car parades and parking lot ceremonies.
There were 57,171 high school graduates in the class of 2019, and the Department of Education expects this year’s number will be similar. Minnesota colleges and universities award over 100,000 degrees annually.
REPUBLICAN LEGISLATORS CRITICAL OF DECISION
Some Republican legislators criticized the graduation guidelines.
“This one-size-hurts-all approach completely ignores the thoughtful deliberations and plans already in place with local school leaders,” said Rep. Sondra Erickson of Princeton. “Legislators and school districts have submitted plans to MDE, but instead of a transparent dialogue, we get a top-down approach.”
Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, said he and state officials “are trying our best to make sure that we are striking that proper balance between public health and these important social milestones.”
Sen. Karin Housley, R-St. Marys Point, questioned why outdoor ceremonies couldn’t continue.
“So the Air Force Academy can graduate 1000 cadets in an outdoor ceremony but Pipestone High School can’t socially distance their 60 graduating seniors on the football field for their ceremony?” she tweeted on Friday. “Right now I see more than 60 people INSIDE Costco. Where is the common sense?”
Health department epidemiologist Susan Klammer said in-person ceremonies of any size would be challenging.
“It’s not just the simple math problem of spacing out students on a field,” she said. “It’s thinking about the number of people that are passing through the doorway or the gates to get into the field. How are you ensuring safety with any of the public facilities you offer?”
SCHOOLS ALREADY PLANNED VIRTUAL CEREMONIES
Some school districts, including St. Paul and Minneapolis, previously announced plans to live-stream virtual graduations on the days they were scheduled to be held. The Minnesota State system also has called off in-person ceremonies at its universities and colleges, and the University of Minnesota is planning a virtual commencement on May 16.
Sarah Kyllonen of St. Paul has sons graduating this spring from Central High School and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She’s emotional when she thinks about them missing out on the traditions of their senior years.
“I’m trying to be upbeat for them because I don’t want them to be sad, as well,” she said. “It really is unfortunate that this is the way it is, but we all understand why we need to stay home.”
Cretin-Derham Hall in St. Paul is looking into holding a graduation ceremony in August.
“It would only happen within the guidelines of community health, and we don’t really know what that’s going to look like,” spokeswoman Annie Broos said.
This year, the Catholic school’s “Last Supper” tradition will be held remotely as faculty and parent volunteers deliver meals from Tinucci’s to the homes of the 252 seniors.
South Washington County Schools officials are reviewing the state’s recommendations before announcing plans. In a survey of seniors and families, most preferred a delayed ceremony in July — with the expectation that social distancing measures would be more relaxed and it would be held outside with a limited number of family members per graduate, according to a district spokesman.
As for graduation parties, Klammer said she couldn’t offer a timeline on when the state would allow for gatherings of people from multiple households, noting “We’re entering into the steepest part of the curve” of the virus’s spread.
Mary Divine contributed to this report.
