Polk County Public Schools’ 2019 graduations will come with several changes for graduates and their families. To assist students and parents in planning for the graduation season, the school district is announcing the following changes for ceremonies that will take place at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland:

• Each graduate will receive tickets to their graduation ceremony through their school. The number of tickets each graduate will receive will depend on the total number of graduates. The RP Funding Center’s Jenkins Arena seats approximately 4,000, including general seating and seating for the handicapped. The number of available seats will be divided by the number of graduates to determine how many tickets each graduate will receive. Schools will work with graduates who need more or fewer tickets, making every effort to accommodate those requests.
• Tickets are free and will have a list of security procedures on the back.
• Attendees must present their tickets to be admitted to their graduate’s ceremony. Lost tickets will not be replaced.
• Graduations occurring at the RP Funding Center will be live-streamed on YouTube, allowing those unable to attend the ceremony to witness their graduate’s milestone. Live-streams can be accessed below.
• Attendees should plan on arriving two hours prior to their graduate’s ceremony to ensure they have enough time to get through security.

Schools having graduations at 2 p.m. will be released at 12 p.m. on the day of their ceremony. The last day of school for seniors is May 17.

For additional information about specific ceremonies, parents should contact their child’s school.