May 26 (UPI) — A Texas school district canceled its high school graduation ceremony after officials said Friday only five of the 33 students were eligible to graduate.
Marlin High School was going to give out diplomas on Thursday but decided not to once it was revealed that many of the students did not meet the requirements for graduating.
Superintendent Darryl Henson said that students in his district “will he held to the same high standard as any other student in Texas.”
“We maintain high expectations, not as an imposition, but as a show of faith in our students’ abilities,” Henson said.
District spokesperson Leah Wayne said that failing grades, attendance, verification and documentation issues, contributed to many of the graduating issues.
“They found some deficiencies with the data compared to where they felt it should be,” Wayne said, according to NBC News. “That’s why they afforded the students some additional time. They made the decision to postpone graduation so that more students would be able to fix some of those issues.”