Fulton County Schools is drawing the line. Any senior who did not pass all parts of the state graduation test will not be allowed to participate in commencement ceremonies this year.

"We feel that high school graduation is an accomplishment not to take lightly and that tightening the policy provides this achievement the honor and respect it deserves," said Susan Hale, system spokeswoman.

The new rule seems to be taking some parents by surprise, but the information has been in schools and on the district Web site since December, Hale said.

According to state rules, a diploma is awarded only if a student has passed all parts of the high school graduation test. The state does not decide who participates in graduation ceremonies, said Matt Cardoza, state department of education spokesman.

Like Fulton County, Atlanta Public Schools does not allow students who have not passed all parts of the state test to walk across the stage. Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Forsyth and Cherokee counties all allow students, regardless of their state test results, to participate in graduation exercises.

Prior to the adoption of the Fulton County policy, some schools in Fulton allowed students to walk across the stage during graduation, even if they were not receiving a diploma.

Michael Robinson, principal of Creekside High School in Fairburn, said graduation is a privilege and should be treated as such. There are approximately 340 seniors at Creekside and Robinson said he expects more than 300 to participate in graduation activities.

Students are give multiple opportunities to take the four-part test. All 11th graders take it, and have five chances to re-take it before graduation, should they need to.

A school-by-school breakdown of test results should be made public by the end of the month, said Matt Cardoza, state department of education spokesman.

There is an appeals process for those who are continually tripped up by the state test, he said. It is too late to be approved for local graduations, but the process will continue through the summer. The deadline to consider the next set of appeals is May 27.

For more on the appeals process to go: http://www.gadoe.org and click "Are you eligible?" on the bottom right-hand side of the page.