Eldorado High School reverses denial of grad’s cultural regalia

The mother of an Eldorado High School senior this week claimed that her daughter was wrongfully denied the ability to wear cultural regalia at her upcoming graduation ceremony.

However, the decision was overturned by the school two days later after the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada stepped in to help.

Katie Franco, the mother of Eldorado High School senior Jocelynne Zepeda, said she submitted photos to the school on April 2 showing what her daughter planned to wear on graduation day — a custom-made stole with the Guatemalan flag on one side to represent her mother and the Mexican flag on the other to represent her late father. She said she also submitted a charm Jocelynne wanted to wear on her cap that was adorned with a photo of her dad, who died of stomach cancer last year.

Franco said she received a reply from the school on May 6, over a month after her request was submitted, stating that the school required all students to wear only graduation regalia provided by Eldorado High.

“I asked if there was a reason for the denial. They never told me a reason,” Franco said.

Confused about the decision, Franco reached out to a coworker for help who later posted about the incident on X, which caught the attention of the ACLU’s executive director Athar Haseebullah.

Haseebullah said the ACLU had sent a letter to the Clark County School District last month demanding it remove its graduation participation agreement — which gave students guidelines on the ceremony dress code — because it did not align with AB73, a bill signed into law last year that gave students the right to wear cultural or religious regalia at graduations.

“It was really intended specifically for stoles, so that students that wanted to honor their, you know, their national origin, their religion and their culture could do so,” Haseebullah said.

In response to the letter, the district replied on April 19 that the graduation participation agreement had been rescinded. It is unclear why Eldorado High denied Franco’s request on May 6 despite the district’s decision to comply with the law.

“This is the problem,” Haseebullah said. “It shouldn’t be the schools deciding what to do … that was never the spirit of the law.”

Two days after the ACLU stepped in, the school’s administration informed Franco on Wednesday that her regalia had been approved.

In a statement to the Review-Journal, CCSD said: “As of April 19, 2024, the Clark County School District rescinded the Graduation Participation Agreement. Students are permitted to wear traditional tribal regalia or recognized objects of religious or cultural significance as an adornment to their cap and gown in accordance with AB73.”

“CCSD encourages all students and families to be mindful of the occasion and respectful of their fellow graduates so that everyone can enjoy the ceremony equally,” the district added.

Eldorado will hold graduation on May 24.