ACLU sues CCSD over graduation regalia policy

As graduation approaches, the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and the Clark County School District find themselves back in court together.

The ACLU and high school senior Corie Humphrey filed a lawsuit against CCSD in District Court on Friday over what it said is the school district’s unconstitutional and inconsistent enforcement of what students can wear at graduation.

“Maybe more than ever before, we’re hearing from students that their ability to represent their culture, their background, is more important than it’s ever been. They’re concerned that their inability to be able to do that at graduation is going to have a permanent impact,” said Athar Haseebullah, executive director of ACLU of Nevada.

CCSD said it does not comment on pending litigation.

Nevada law allows students to wear tribal regalia, and school boards can prohibit attire only if it interferes with the ceremony, according to the complaint.

The school district adopted a policy on March 27 governing graduation regalia, according to the complaint.

“CCSD’s Regalia Policy is a facially unconstitutional prior restraint in that it vests local Clark County schools and their officials with unbridled discretion to permit or deny expressive activity,” the complaint said. “CCSD’s failure to provide guidance allows individual schools and school officials free reign to determine how students may express themselves and what they may express at a graduation.”

The lawsuit makes four claims for relief, including involving violations of free speech and expression. It seeks both short-term solutions — allowing specific students to be able to wear regalia — as well as a long-term decision from the court dictating CCSD’s right to dictate the graduation regalia.

The ACLU also filed an emergency motion over the weekend for a hearing in order to get a decision in the next week, as many high schools are set to have graduation by the end of the month.

The complaint describes 11 CCSD high schoolers in the ACLU’s emerging leaders program, whose schools have varying policies regarding what they can wear and what happens if they do not wear the right thing.

Humphrey, who is set to graduate from East Career Technical Academy on May 27, wants to wear, among other items, a stole with “Black Girl Magic” written on it to represent her Black culture, according to the complaint.

Assistant Principal Jennifer Geissinger told Humphrey that students could not wear stoles or honor cords “not directly related to a school-sponsored club or academic program,” the complaint said. They are allowed to wear tribal regalia and up to one lei, according to a presentation to seniors that is described in the complaint.

Humphrey is concerned that her items will be confiscated or she will be excluded from the ceremony or face other discipline, according to the complaint.

The complaint also details conflicting policies at Del Sol Academy, Las Vegas High School and Canyon Springs High School.

Haseebullah said that the state law provided additional rights on top of the First Amendment. It does not allow CCSD to engage in “content-based censorship” of caps and gowns.

“It strikes us as being a stupid policy,” Haseebullah said. “With the district facing so many crises over and over, and it seems like there’s a fire every day, we would have thought they would have found something more significant to spend their time on, instead of attempting to undercut people’s ability and desire to have fun and represent their own culture and backgrounds at their own high school graduations.”

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @katiefutterman.bsky.social.