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A federal judge has ruled for a Colorado school district after a student sued to wear a sash reflecting the Mexican and American flags at graduation Saturday.
The lawsuit said the district violated Naomi Peña Villasano’s “constitutionally protected right to free speech.” Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund attorneys, representing Villasano, also sought a temporary restraining order to allow Villasano to wear the sash at the May 27 ceremony while the court considered their claims.
But Judge Nina Y. Wang on Friday denied that motion.
According to the order, Garfield County School District 16, in the western part of the state, had indicated that sashes or cords worn during graduation typically represent membership in a nationally recognized organization; other distinctions such as class honors; future military service; or “regalia that is part of a Native American or Pacific Islander tribe.
