POLICY FOR GRADUATION

Cape Girardeau Central High School may be changing its commencement practice again -- this time for the better.

A high school committee will recommend to the school board that students complete all graduation requirements to be eligible to participate in the commencement ceremony. This would be a return to a long-standing practice at the high school.

That practice was voided last year only days before graduation, when a handful of students were allowed to participate in the ceremony. A public outcry followed as some felt favoritism was shown by Superintendent Neyland Clark, who intervened in the matter.

The school board must make sure that the rules are the same for everyone and that no last-minute exceptions are allowed. The way the decision was made last May, and the timing, raised more hackles than the decision itself.

The recommendation includes safeguards to alert students and parents well in advance that all requirements may not be met. This is a sound premise.

And if exceptions, for some reason, are allowed in the new policy, the procedures should be spelled out clearly. The names of any student given an exception should be publicly announced in advance, along with the reason why an exception was granted.

The board is expected to vote on the policy in April.

Commencement should be the reward for 12 years of student achievement. This policy recommendation ensures this distinction.