Religious, cultural symbols allowed at California high school graduations under new law

A new California law affirms the right of high school students to wear ceremonial tribal adornment or other objects of religious or cultural significance at graduation ceremonies.

The new law comes two years after a graduating student in the Elk Grove Unified School District was ejected from the ceremony for wearing a kente cloth, a kind of fabric worn on significant occasions in certain African cultures.

That school district has since relaxed its graduation adornment policy.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, said in a supporting statement that there were also several incidents in California where Native American students were unable to wear eagle feathers at graduation due to school district “no adornment” policies.

Gloria’s statement noted that American Indian and Alaska Native high school students often are given eagle feathers to wear at graduation, to symbolize a great honor or achievement.

“California is a place of rich diversity. We take pride in our communities, neighborhoods, and who we are as people – and we are proud to be a place for everyone. Every Californian deserves the right to honor their heritage and celebrate who they are,” Gloria said in a statement after his bill was signed into law. “These measures empower students to recognize their cultural identity on one of the most important days of their lives and allow Native American tribes to pay respect to their ancestors and history. As the Legislature’s only enrolled tribal member, I sincerely thank Governor Brown for his signature on these important bills.”

Gov. Jerry Brown, who signed the bill into law, had vetoed a similar bill from Gloria in the last session, arguing that students’ right to wear specific adornments already was protected by the First Amendment.

“To the extent that there is a dispute about what a student can wear at school graduation ceremonies, I believe those closest to the problem – principals and democratically elected school boards – are in the best position to make wise judgments,” Brown wrote at the time.

Gloria’s bill passed the the Assembly and Senate unanimously.