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The Troup County School System announced Monday that it will not require tickets for its graduation ceremonies this week, meaning students won’t be as limited in the number of people they can invite.

Previously, TCSS was limiting students to eight tickets apiece, which would keep the crowd at 50 percent or less capacity. However, Superintendent Brian Shumate said TCSS is adjusting as the guidance around the virus changes. A few weeks ago the Center for Disease Control announced that fully vaccinated people could go unmasked.

Callaway Stadium has a maximum capacity of 5,000 people. Shumate said tickets are no longer needed and seating will be more first-come, first-served.

“We have to improvise, modify and adjust, and that’s what we’re doing,” Shumate said. “The world has changed in the last couple of weeks, and we’re responding to that. Our cases now are at an all-time low. We had three proms and did not have any incidents afterward. We had no spiking or any of that kind of stuff. So, we feel pretty good about where we are at the moment.”

Masks will still be required to enter the graduation ceremony and temperatures will be taken, Shumate said. After that, if spectators feel comfortable in their family pods and want to remove their masks, then Shumate said they may choose to do so.

Students will be masked when processing into the stadium, but can remove them while watching the ceremony, Shumate said. Their seats will be six feet apart. As students cross the stage, they will be asked to wear their masks again, then can remove it for photos.

Callaway High School graduates Thursday night at 8 p.m., Troup High graduates Friday night at 8 p.m. and LaGrange High graduates Saturday at 8:30 a.m.