() — A federal judge ruled in favor of a Colorado school district after a student sued to be allowed to wear a stole with the US and Mexican flags at her graduation this Saturday.
The lawsuit says the district violated Naomi Peña Villasano’s “constitutionally protected right to free speech.” Attorneys for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which are representing Villasano, also requested a temporary restraining order to allow Villasano to wear the stole at the May 27 ceremony while the court considered her claims.
But Judge Nina Y. Wang on Friday denied that motion.
Naomi Peña Villasano poses with a band with the flags of Mexico and the United States. Daisy Jasmin Estrada Borja/AP
According to the order, Garfield County School District 16, in the western part of the state, indicated that stoles or lanyards worn at graduation generally represent membership in a nationally recognized organization; other distinctions such as class honors; future military service; or an “insignia that is part of a Native American or Pacific Islander tribe.” In addition, school district policy says that “[it]is appropriate” to decorate a cap with the “flag of a country recognized by the United Nations,” the order says.
In his ruling, Wang said a student wearing pins at graduation sends a message that the school approves, thus “qualifying as a school-sponsored speech, at least during the ceremony.” The district insisted that standardized dress was required to create a message of unity, a concern the judge found legitimate.
The judge also noted that district policy would have allowed Villasano to reproduce the sash design on his graduation cap and would have allowed him to wear the stole before and after the ceremony.
“While Naomi may prefer to wear the stole during the graduation ceremony, the Court respectfully agrees with the School District and concludes that Naomi will not be irreparably harmed by having to express her culture in a form other than the stole.” Wang wrote.
has reached out to attorneys for Garfield County School District 16 and Villasano’s attorneys with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund for comment.
