Does The Right To Graduate From School Mean A Student Has A Right To Walk At The Graduation Ceremony?
By Michelle Ball, California Education Attorney for Students since 1995 I have been approached in the past by families of students denied the right to walk at their commencement exercise (aka graduation ceremony). They will be given a diploma, usually via mail, but have been told not to bother coming to the graduation ceremony itself. Needless to say, families in this situation are very unhappy. Adding to the issue is usually the fact that the student's family heard about the matter a mere week or two prior to the commencement exercise, which is a once in a lifetime event. The bottom line is that if a student has met the academic requirements for graduation from, for example, a public high school, they DO have a legal right to a diploma from the institution they attended. For example, if they get those 220 units, pass the CAHSEE (California High School Exit Examination), and meet their class requirements, they earn their diploma which cannot be denied. However, the "ri...