Gov. Jared Polis this week signed a bill into law that allows students to wear objects of cultural or religious significance during graduation ceremonies.

HB24-1323 prohibits preschools, public K-12 schools and higher education institutions from restricting what students may wear under their graduation attire. However, schools are still allowed to prevent students from wearing an adornment that is likely to disrupt or interfere with a graduation ceremony, according to the bill.

Last year, a Mexican-American student at Grand Valley High School in Parachute was told by officials from the school and Garfield County School District 16 that she couldn’t wear a stole decorated with both the American flag and Mexican flag during her graduation ceremony.

While the governor said he supported what he called the bill sponsors’ “reinforcement of cultural and religious freedom,” Polis raised concerns about the legislation, which he said mirrored a broader trend this session of bills that included language preventing schools from seeking a waiver from the state Board of Education related to the legislation.

“As someone who believes strongly in innovation and local control in education, I do not feel it is wise to statutorily prohibit alternative approaches that schools may use for accomplishing any piece of legislation’s core objectives,” Polis said in a signing statement addressed to the Colorado General Assembly. “This concern has nothing to do with the specific topic of this or any other particular bill. Instead, it has to do with the harmful, more generalized precedent I believe we are setting with prohibiting waivers.”

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