Two new Executive Orders out this week (EO 2020-110 and EO 2020-115) reopened significant parts of the state's economy and created new opportunities for social gatherings. This has many schools wondering if and when they may be able to hold some form of graduation ceremony for their outgoing senior class. The bottom line is that for most districts, the limitations still in place will make an in-person graduation ceremony difficult. But for some districts, particularly smaller districts and districts in northern Michigan and the upper peninsula, you may be able to have graduation after all.

Here's a breakdown of what allowable:

Statewide

  • Outdoor social gatherings (including graduations) of up to 100 people are permitted with proper six-foot social distancing.
  • Indoor social gatherings are still limited to no more than 10 people.
  • Students and other community members are permitted on school property. Per MASB's legal counsel, students, parents, staff, etc. will only be allowed to enter schools for the purposes of a social gathering after the school year ends. See MASSP's earlier article for further discussion on this.
  • Example of allowable graduation ceremony: outdoor ceremony (e.g. on the football field) with no more than 100 total people (students, parents, and staff) in attendance. For example, a small district with a class of 30 graduates limited to 2 guests each and a handful of staff in attendance, potentially with a small camera crew for live streaming or recording.

Economic Recovery Regions 6 & 8 ONLY (see map below)

  • Outdoor social gatherings (including graduations) of up to 250 people with proper six-foot social distancing.
  • Gatherings of up to 500 people (or up to 25% of the venue's capacity, whichever is less) are permitted at an outdoor sporting or performance venue are permitted with social distancing.
  • Indoor social gatherings are limited to no more than 50 people (or up to 25% of a venue's capacity, whichever is less) provided people can maintain social distancing.
  • Students and other community members are permitted on school property. Per MASB's legal counsel, students, parents, staff, etc. will only be allowed to enter schools for the purposes of a social gathering after the school year ends. See MASSP's earlier article for further discussion on this.
  • Example 1 of allowable graduation ceremony: outdoor ceremony (e.g. on the football field) with up to 500 total people (students, parents, and staff) in attendance. This may work to allow many smaller schools to hold regular-sized graduation ceremonies. Larger districts in these regions may be able to host in-person ceremonies with limited attendance.
  • Example 2 of allowable graduation ceremony: indoor ceremony (e.g. in the gym) with no more than 50 total people in attendance. This could allow students and staff to attend, perhaps with a camera crew to allow live streaming, broadcasting (e.g. on a large screen in the parking lot for parents), and recording.

For a full breakdown of what is going to reopen when under these recent executive orders, we recommend Mlive.com's article Michigan coronavirus stay-at-home order lifted: Here’s what opens when.