AURORA | Erika Leon is a junior at the University of Denver and the first person in her family to pursue a college degree.
Her parents immigrated from El Salvador, bringing and having little, except their culture.
They encouraged Leon and her siblings to take advantage of what local public schools had to offer. The result was her “learning to love knowledge” and understanding that education would not just help her, but her family.
Graduation will be the culmination of all that hard work and the dedication of her family and culture. This is why she was to celebrate and honor them, by wearing a cultural stole when she walks across the stage to receive her diploma.
Most Colorado students are not allowed to wear cultural and religious attire during graduation. A proposed state law could change that.
Last year, state lawmakers allowed Indigenous students to wear tribal attire such as feathers and beads to graduation ceremonies. However, the same privilege was not extended to students from any cultural communities.
Last week, Leon spoke to lawmakers during the House Education Committee in support of a bill that would do just that. House Bill 1323 allows "a preschool, public school, or public college or university student to wear objects of cultural or religious significance as an adornment at a graduation ceremony." The panel approved the bill 7-4 Thursday, drawing cheers from the audience.
The bill, superseding local school district authority, is slated for debate among the full House membership Tuesday morning.
“We need guidance from the state to be able to create the conditions that will make sure that students, as they exist in schools right now, have the protections they need to celebrate on graduation day,” said state Rep. Tim Hernandez, D-Denver, a prime sponsor of the bill.
Not everyone was as pleased.
Wendy Birhanzel, superintendent of Harrison School District 2 in Colorado Springs, said she is concerned that students, empowered by the potential new law, might choose to wear nothing beneath their gowns. She also questioned what would qualify under guaranteed "religious and cultural significance."
To address concerns that students might not wear any clothes under their graduation gown, the committee passed an amendment stating that “a school may not dictate what a student wears under their gown beyond what is in the school dress code” and that schools cannot infringe on students’ “gender expression, gender identity, religion or culture.”
The bill defines “cultural” as a recognized practice or traditions of people from protected classes such as: race, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and religion. This does not include fighting words, child pornography, incitement, defamation, fraud, obscenity and threats. However, guardrails are in place to prohibit students from wearing or displaying anything, such as Nazi symbols, and other attire “that is likely to cause substantial disruption of, or material interference with, a graduation ceremony.”
“I think whether such a thing happens ultimately depends on the state of First Amendment law and how strong a position it's in to combat hate speech. At the same time, there's a possibility of the law being used to silence diverse students,” University of Colorado Law School sStudent, Leo Nguyen, told The Sentinel.
“[This bill is] a great symbolic step because, in a way, it offers a voice to students, especially those who come from marginalized backgrounds. I think these bills would help to make school districts a more inclusive environment for students,” Nguyen said. “On the other hand, I anticipate that school districts may need to prepare for legal challenges to cultural and religious regalia that students choose to wear.”
Aurora Public School and Cherry Creek School District are monitoring the bill’s progress, and have not explicitly supported or opposed the bill.
Additional amendments made to the bill limit the size and type of adornments students can wear during graduation. The adornments must also follow their school’s dress code, and the adornment can only be a certain size to prevent students from wearing full-size flags.
“ I love culture, too. I think we want to make sure that we can also execute effective graduation ceremonies,” Hernandez said.
Michelle Murphy, executive director of Colorado Rural School Alliance, said that she is concerned that this could put graduation ceremonies “in the middle of a culture war.” However, she said that the amendments which tied graduation to approved school conduct “goes a long way, if not all the way in addressing those concerns.”
Some of the organizations that supported the proposed bill include: American Civil Liberty Union of Colorado; Young Invincibles, an organization that amplifies voices of young adults in politics; the American Federation of Teachers; Colorado PTA; One Colorado, a LGBTQ+ advocacy organization.
Other proponents include community members from Latino and Hispanic communities who spoke about the significance of a graduation celebration, and how this bill would support marginalized communities.
“When I walk on Graduation Day, my stole will not only demonstrate that I am a proud Salvadoran,” Leon said. “My stole will represent that this achievement is not only mine, but for my parents who encouraged me to pursue education and work every day to make me the person that I am.”
