The issue for decision in this case is whether high school students who lack the required course credits to graduate can resort to a court of equity and obtain an injunction that would allow the students to march in a graduation ceremony. The answer is “no.”
Two and a half weeks prior to their graduation from high school, a number of Fulton County students were notified that discrepancies had been found in the computer records which tracked their course work, grades and credits. Following an investigation, school officials informed the students that they did not qualify for a high school diploma and would not be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremony.
Less than 48 hours before the scheduled graduation ceremony, five students brought suit against the school board and school officials, seeking an order requiring the school board to let them participate in the commencement exercises. A six-hour hearing was held on the eve of the scheduled graduation. At the conclusion of the hearing, the superior court determined that the students had no constitutional right to participate in a
Defendants brought this appeal. In the meantime, the four students participated in the graduation ceremony.
1. A temporary restraining order is not directly appealable. OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (9). Although the injunction in this case is denominated as a TRO, there is no magic in nomenclature. A document is to be construed by its substance or function, rather than by its name.
Martin v. Williams,
The TRO in this case was entered after a six-hour evidentiary hearing at which both sides were present. Moreover, it did not merely preserve the status quo pending further proceedings; it directed action which gave plaintiffs all of the relief they sought. It follows that the TRO was directly appealable and that we have appellate jurisdiction. See
Geld-Halden Indus. v. Parr,
2. This appeal is not moot simply because the students participated in the graduation ceremony. The issues in this appeal are of public importance and they are capable of repetition, yet evade judicial review. See
Payne v. Chatman,
3. The students did not assert that they were being deprived of a diploma they had earned. They only sought the right to march with their classmates in the graduation ceremony. However, students have no right to participate in a graduation ceremony. Williams v. Austin Independent School Dist., 796 FSupp. 251, 255 (W.D. Tex. 1992) (although students have property interest in high school diploma, there is no accompanying right to receive the diploma at a graduation ceremony); Swany v. San Ramon Valley Unified School Dist., 720 FSupp. 764, 773-774 (N.D. Cal. 1989) (student has no property interest in graduation ceremony even if he met all graduation requirements); Fowler v. Williamson, 448 FSupp. 497, 502 (W.D. NC 1978) (graduation ceremony is not a property right). See also Smith v. North Babylon Union Free School Dist., 844 F2d 90, 94 (2nd Cir. 1988) (graduation exercises are mere social occasions and are not protected by free exercise clause). It follows that the students have no legally viable due process claim.
4. At the conclusion of the hearing, the superior court acknowledged that the students had no legal right to participate in the high school graduation ceremony. Nevertheless, the court entered an injunction, declaring that it had equitable power to “do the right thing.” In so doing, the court erred because the first maxim of equity is that equity follows the law.
Lewis v. Bd. of Ed. of Lowndes County,
Judgment reversed.