Columbia Board of Education Policy Committee introduces guidelines for honoring students that die before graduation

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Columbia Board of Education's Policy Committee on Monday discussed how to best honor students at graduations who died before getting a chance to receive their diploma.

The policy introduced outlines the process schools and administrators need to take leading up to graduation, on the day of and after.

Under the guidelines, any student will be eligible, regardless of when they enrolled. A memorial chair for each student will be placed alongside other graduates. Each chair will be decorated with a cap, gown, diploma cover and flowers. The names of the dead students will be read aloud, if the family wishes. A moment of silence will then take place to honor the students who have died prior to graduation.

School administrators will be tasked with coordinating amongst the impacted families to ensure the actions taken on graduation day align with their wishes. Families are allowed to opt out of the memorial proceedings.

Following graduation, the district will provide the parents or guardians of the student with a commemorative tassel and diploma cover.

Parent Tonya Avery lost her son Evan in a 2023 car crash when he was just 15-years-old.

"Our Evan had hopes and dreams that he was looking forward to. He made memories with his classmates and friends. Those friendships are still remembered and celebrated by his 'boys,' as Evan called them, today," Avery wrote in a statement to ABC 17 News.

His name was almost not read at the 2026 Rock Bridge graduation ceremony, until a push for change by Avery and the community. Avery shared her support for the policy saying there should "never be any reason to not do the right thing by honoring any student."

"No parent should have to fight to hear their child's name said and I'm glad the district has recognized that for future families," Avery wrote. "Evan was and always will be a part of the graduating Class of 2026 at Rock Bridge."

Policy Committee Chair Paul Harper said it was the confusion surrounding 2026 graduation procedures that motivated the creation of the policy.

At Monday's meeting, members agreed to tweak some language in the policy to make it more general so no students are at risk of being left out. The adjustments will be discussed again at the next policy committee meeting and whether to send it to the board for approval.