Earlier this month, the Texas Education Agency issued guidance for Class of 2020 graduation ceremonies in the state of Texas. As part of Governor Greg Abbott’s Strike Force to Open Texas, TEA advised that schools had four different pathways to celebrate their graduating seniors:
Rural counties with five or less cases of COVID-19 could participate in outdoor in-person ceremonies from May 15 - 31st. All counties that did not meet that qualification, would have to wait to hold their outdoor ceremonies until at least June 1, 2020.
Thanks to the guidance issued by TEA, many school districts were able to form plans for graduation ceremonies. For Sands CISD, a consolidated school district located in Ackerly, Texas that sits both in Dawson and Martin Counties, this was a little more complicated. While Martin County did meet the requirement of having less than 5 confirmed cases, Dawson County had over 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Instead of waiting until June 1st to hold an outdoor graduation ceremony for their 7 graduating seniors, Sands CISD obtained approval from the Martin County Judge and held their ceremony last Friday, May 15, 2020, on the visiting side of their football field; the side of the field that sits in Martin County.


For more on this story, visit: https://www.kcbd.com/2020/05/18/football-field-split-between-two-counties-forces-graduation-visitors-side/?fbclid=IwAR3Zdl9LM7RuHh9mnLM1oqfSmlIwO1frZNQNfnpa2gPefhb61AFrNN3y1I4