US school defies restrictions to hold in-person graduation ceremony

A school board in North Carolina voted to hold an in-person graduation ceremony for all its high schools that would be a violation of the state’s coronavirus safety orders.

The Union County Public Schools Board voted 5-4 Thursday to hold the ceremonies in an outdoor stadium where students would maintain social distancing, news outlets reported.

But the ceremonies would still violate Governor Roy Cooper’s executive order limiting mass gatherings to 25 people in outdoor spaces.

“Obviously, we have a terrible lack of leadership from the governor of our state,” says Gary Sides, a school board member who issued the proposal.

“We’re trying to fumble through and not deprive these kids of one of the most important events of their life.”

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The board’s vote comes after students and parents held a protest outside Union County Public Schools Superintendent Andrew Houlihan’s home demanding an in-person ceremony.