High school seniors in Visalia Unified said they are disappointed with what they described as a “lazy” graduation ceremony they will receive this year.

Schools in Visalia Unified are giving seniors a drive-through graduation to abide by Health Department shelter-in-place guidelines.

There is no indication the district will plan a larger in-person ceremony once it is safe for large crowds to assemble. Nearly all Central Valley schools have canceled large traditional commencement ceremonies in June in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

But, students said Tuesday, other school districts – like Clovis and Fresno – have promised the class of 2020 a traditional ceremony would happen, when possible. Clovis Unified has gone as far as scheduling a July date and reserving a venue, but officials have said repeatedly the ceremony would be canceled if public health officials say the situation remains unsafe at that time.

Visalia seniors said they’re upset their schools won’t try to give them the chance to say goodbye and graduate together in the same way Fresno Unified and Clovis Unified have promised their students.

“They didn’t consider us at all. They took things into their own hands. They didn’t send any survey’s asking us what we think,” Redwood High senior Karis Ramage said.

“I know Tulare districts are having a little graduation. I know Clovis Unified and Fresno Unified are having a walk-through graduation at a later time. It just kind of sucks,” said Redwood senior Chloe Schultz.

Seniors and parents said they submitted multiple letters to the superintendent and school board, and requested an in-person graduation when public safety allows. However, students said they’ve only received the same “cut-and-paste response.”

“They basically told us, ‘nothing is going to change and it’s too dangerous,’” Schultz said.

Visalia Unified Superintendent Tamara Ravalín told The Bee such a ceremony wouldn’t happen due to public health concerns.

“The committee extensively researched the possibility of offering an in-person commencement. However, given the rise in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Tulare County, it did not appear that things would be back to normal where large groups could be approved to gather for quite some time. Promising to hold a graduation ceremony in July or August represented a promise with a significant risk of not being able to be kept.”

Nearly 45% of confirmed coronavirus cases throughout the central San Joaquin Valley have been reported in Tulare County. Tulare County accounts for the largest number of confirmed cases at 1,771. The county on Tuesday reported a total of 79 deaths, the most in the region.

Schultz said, “Since we do have a higher count of people that have had the virus, there is a higher chance that one person can have it at the graduation. That’s why we want to put it at a safer date. But I do think other schools in Tulare County are getting their graduations, too.”

Students and parents protested on Tuesday in front of the VUSD office to request the promise of an in-person graduation. Many hoped the socially distanced protest would help them achieve their goal.

“We feel that we can have a traditional graduation ceremony in a safe way to where we don’t harm anybody else and it doesn’t even have to be required for everybody to show up to the ceremony but people who are willing to have a traditional ceremony can go out there and risk it,” said El Diamante senior Amanda Heyer at the protest.

“For most of us, it’s to see everybody one more time. We didn’t know we would not be seeing anybody forever on the last day of school. No one knew it was our last day. We really take the virus seriously, but we’d all like to get to go and say our goodbyes and have some sort of closure,” Ramage said.

But if Tuesday’s protest, which drew about 40 people, moved the needle at all for the district, Ravalín wasn’t saying.

“Students have a right to freedom of speech and expression. We are proud of how well they have behaved during the protest and their maturity. We truly empathize with them,” Ravalín said.

But students said they would continue to push for a traditional commencement when safety allows.

“People out here have a positive outlook,” Schultz said. “We are so grateful for what we are getting; we just deserve a little bit more.”

The Education Lab is a local journalism initiative that highlights education issues critical to the advancement of the San Joaquin Valley. It is funded by donors. Learn about The Bee’s Education Lab on our website.

This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 7:06 PM.